


Hellemental

by HumanitysLastMeth



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Horror, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Horror, Prime universe, cosmic horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2020-07-20 01:44:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 24
Words: 29,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19984012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HumanitysLastMeth/pseuds/HumanitysLastMeth
Summary: Where is your god now?





	1. Introduction and Content Briefing

I would like to thank r/kpophelp and r/loona for some of the ideas for this novel. Got some useful info from there. For future reference, fanart is fine, just tell me in the comments that you have made a piece and I can give the contacts for submissions there. I will be creating a Discord for this novel, to discuss in universe material, answer questions, and share fan content (this is assuming people actually read this). 

I'm sort of taking this story too seriously, but I will try to keep humor from being too sparse, because sometimes you need humor to diffuse intense violence. 

This will be written taking the characters' sanity into account, so mental degradation/insanity will be incorporated into the writing style of each character when appropriate. 

This is an AU. Loona members are portrayed as normal people. There is nothing out of the ordinary in this AU, basically indistinguishable from reality. At least in the beginning.

If you are offended by homosexuality, then why are you reading a Loona fic? Hell, why are you on AO3? Don't go complaining about this story being too gay in the comments. Get over it. The L in LGBTQ stands for Loona.

I try to keep the pacing at a medium speed, because I cannot write slow for the life of me, and if I let myself go too fast an entire conflict is solved in a paragraph. Don't expect a slow burner, at least in the action department. No I won't be killing any Loona members. There is a special place in hell reserved for people who kill off Loona members. 

This may get a little smutty, but I will put warnings at the beginning of the chapter if there is sex. There will not be sex every chapter, and it'll probably be pretty light and only for character development. 

And for the love of Cthulhu, no, I will not make Sooyoung a diva. She's an awkward girl and I'm going to try to stay true to her real life personality. I will try to keep the members as accurate as possible without going absolutely insane with there realism. Expect to get diabetes from Yerim chapters. Now, I may make some changes, such as likely tastes in music (make it a little more diverse) and actual backgrounds and professions, but it's for the sake of an interesting story.

Remember, not every member will stay perfectly mentally stable, so don't expect 100% personality consistency.

That's all I have to say for the intro. 

Future out.


	2. Prologue

I'm not tired, but I am surely insane.

_Why did I have to do this? They could've chosen anyone to do this, why me? I will have to carry this weight on my soul for the rest of my pitiful existence._

I continued to move through the void of space, searching for any star systems that could possibly harbor life. The hunk of rock and metal I was lugging was slowing me down enough that the cold was noticeable. The friction from moving through a hydrogen cloud can be a godsend when flying through the abyss that is open space. _Any_ form of warmth was a godsend. The milky way galaxy was an amazing place, but there are only so many stars to keep you warm.

As I passed yet another dying red giant, I spotted a medium sized, young, yellow star. It had incredible amounts of matter surrounding it. Planets, asteroids, comets, everything. If any star in this galaxy had life, it would've been this one. The only question was, would it be intelligent enough? A sentient species would be absolutely necessary if I wanted to get this done. I passed some of the outer planets, but seeing as they weren't much warmer than the space around them, inspecting them would be a waste of time.

After passing a particularly large gas giant (After admiring its colors, of course), I noticed a small Rocky planet. It had water. This could be it. I could be done with this, and get out of this blistering cold, and go home for the first time in however many centuries it has been. It's been so long, I can't even remember what home looks like. I looked closer. Clouds. Visible plant life. There was only one last thing to check for. I slowly opened my third eye, wincing from the icy sting of space. I peered down at the surface of the planet. There were functioning, living minds.

I took a deep, breath, forgetting the fact that I was in a complete vacuum. 

_Just get it done, and you can leave. This planet has a thick atmosphere, this thing should explode before touching down anyway. Wait... thick atmosphere..._ _If I crack this thing just enough without breaking it, it might fragment on the way down, thus minimising potential destruction! Yes!_

I congratulated my own genius idea, and then pressed my claw softly into the center of the rock. It began to crack, but stopped before it could shatter. There was no way the element crystals could detonate now. And the council would never know. I took hold of the rock, and lobbed it towards the planet. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not in the POV of any of the members if it wasn't obvious enough.  
> I'd love to hear feedback on this chapter! Compliments and criticisms would be appreciated. I want this novel to be the best it can be.


	3. A Masterpiece Painted in Blood | Jiwoo

_Cold. It's so cold._

Jiwoo snapped awake, drenched in sweat. She wiped some of the sweat off of her face with her blanket and took a deep breath. 

"Damn nightmares,"

She couldn't really remember the nightmare, but only nightmares made her wake up like this. She checked her clock, and it was 7:42 am. She hadn't noticed the sunlight filtering through her blinds, which would have been the first clue to the time, but she was shaken up and not quite thinking yet. She needed her coffee for that to start happening.

She heaved her tired body out of bed, and looked at herself in her wall-mounted mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had heavy bags to compliment them. Nothing a little makeup couldn't fix. She stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the light. Seeing as she was currently drenched in sweat, a quick shower couldn't hurt. She stripped out of her pyjamas and hopped in the shower.

After a bit of scrubbing, she managed to get the uncomfortable stickiness of dried sweat off of her skin. She finished showering and climbed out. She prepped for the day, brushing her hair and putting on some basic makeup. She goofily smiled at herself in the mirror.

"Lookin' good!" 

After rummaging through her wardrobe, she found something to wear. She put on a very basic outfit, consisting of a plaid cardigan with a tie and a black skirt. After she was satisfied with her attire, she headed downstairs. She sat down for some breakfast before she left for her lessons. She turned on the tv, and popped a mini muffin in her mouth. What was on the news immediately caught her attention. The headlines read:

"WARNING TO RESIDENTS OF SEOUL, PLEASE REMAIN INDOORS FROM 8:00 AM TO 11:00 PM."

The reporter was talking about an asteroid scheduled to fragment in the atmosphere just above Seoul in that time frame. 

Jiwoo didn't care for the most part, what are the chances of being hit directly by a piece of a meteor in such a large area? She honestly didn't feel like staying home that day, it was a Sunday and nothing was on tv. She had signed up for a tutoring session to get her caught up on Calculus, but she didn't think her tutor would show in these conditions, so maybe a nice walk would be a good way to spend the morning.

She finished her box of mini muffins and slipped on her shoes. She opened the door, only to be hit by the overwhelming odor of car exhaust. She had wanted to have a nice walk, smell the scent of freshly fallen leaves, feel the November winds, not fill her lungs with carbon monoxide. She pulled out her phone and looked at google earth. There was a road not too far off from where her house was that went through a nice wooded area. A perfect place for a stroll. She stepped out onto the sidewalk and strutted off towards the road that was on the map.

After about fifteen minutes, she was out of the densely populated area, and just on the outskirts of town. She checked the map again. It was a few hundred feet ahead, off to the right. If it got sketchy, she'd turn back, but otherwise, she'd just walk until she decided she was tired of walking. She approached the entrance to the path. She looked down the road. A wide dirt path, bordered by trees and not much else. The road looked almost untouched, save for a few old tire tracks.

She started walking, admiring the reds and yellows of the trees lining the road. She couldn't smell the smog of the city anymore, it had been replaced with the pleasant scent of leaves. She stopped and looked at one of the larger trees. It's trunk was covered in various carvings. Many, many people had left their names on this tree. There were so many, it seemed like she had to carve her name for her walk to be validated. Unfortunately, she had nothing to carve with. She'd have to bring a knife next time. 

She continued her stroll, until something ahead caught her eye. It looked like an old building. As she got closer, she realized it was a parking garage. An abandoned, overgrown parking garage. The road she was walking on didn't seem to branch off towards it, but it wasn't too out of the way so she decided to go check it out. As long as she didn't see any poison ivy, she would go to the top. The top of it just passed the treeline, and she thought she could get a really beautiful picture from the roof.

What surprised her the most was the complete absence of graffiti. Not a single illegible word spray painted onto the walls. It was soothing seeing something of this scale made a part of nature. This place seemed to attract a lot of birds as well. There were birds circling over the top. She couldn't quite make out what kind they were, but it was nice to see animals for once. She entered on the ground floor, moving towards the top. She decided to walk all the way around instead of taking the stairs.

It was nothing more than overgrown ruins, until she reached the fourth floor, just below the roof. This floor was particularly damaged. There were lots of holes in the floor. This area seemed a little unsafe, since the floor didn't seem to be too structurally sound. She decided to go back down, since going any further wasn't a very good plan. She turned around and saw something she missed on the way up. A large painting on one of the walls. The painting was in a coppery brown, depicting a very detailed sphere, half being a sun, and the other half being what looked like a melting semicircle.

She saw the floor just in front of it was boarded up, filling in the holes beneath it. She approached the painting, wanting a closer look. Her nose was suddenly filled with a strong metallic odor. Must be lead paint. She admired the intricacy of the symbol, being incredibly well shaped for such a large painting. Her heart stopped. Some of the wood beneath her feet began to buckle. She held as still as possible, not wanting to fall to her death. 

_Crack._

The wood beneath her feet gave, and she fell. About three inches. There was something beneath the wood. A new scent had filled the room. The putrid odor of rot. She looked down, and looked straight into a pair of dead, empty eyes.


	4. Judgement Day | Haseul

Jo Haseul had loved classical music ever since she was a child. The complex musicianship of each composure and the power the music held. Music moved her in a way nothing else in her life did. This is why she was joining an orchestra. She was sure her parents wouldn't approve, but their opinions didn't matter here. This was _her_ life and _her_ career. They should have no say in how she lived. 

The hardest part was leaving her brother, who without her, would have no one other than their parents, and they were not the kindest to him. Especially when Haseul wasn't around. How they treated him was unacceptable, but he would turn 18 soon and would be heading off to college, so they couldn't have their way with him for too long.

She had told her brother she was leaving a few months ago, and he was very supportive. They had promised to stay in contact, since they were each other's best friends. When her brother left for college, they would meet up, and possibly plan legal action against their parents. They couldn't do so now, since those in power were all stuck in the mindset that what parents say goes, no matter how cruel. Once they were older they would be properly respected and not treated like snowflake children.

One of the main reasons Haseul was leaving was because of how horribly abusive her parents were. Her father beat her on a daily basis, and her mother completely supported, even encouraged, the harsh punishment. It was to the point where she would have to use excessive makeup to mask her bruises, for the fear of people finding out. She was afraid that if her friends found out, they would think she was badly behaved and deserved the beatings. It was sickening how people were still okay with this kind of treatment. What damn century was this?

She even threatened to call the police before, leading to her dad breaking two of her ribs, and forcing her to tell the doctors at the ER she fell down the stairs. He sat in her room the entire time she was in the hospital, making sure she didn't tell anyone. 

That wasn't even the worst treatment she had received. She had gotten permission from her parents to go out for a day. She had gone out on a date with another girl, and her parents tracked her phone to her location. Her mom then publicly humiliated her for being a "disgusting sinner", and dragged her back to her car by her hair, not before promptly slapping the other girl. People in the café cheered, as apparently this was "justice" and "good parenting".

When she got home, her dad beat the life out of her. This incident lead to her becoming partially blind in her left eye. She hid in her room for at least a day, and had contemplated suicide. Her brother comforted her, but when her dad found out what he was doing, he beat him too. He went to the point of breaking his jaw, which ended with another "freak accident" story. 

She decided it was time to get out of this hell hole, and wasn't taking no for an answer. She finally mustered up the courage to step out of her room, lugging her suitcase and cello case.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Her dad snapped.

"Leaving. Don't expect me to be back. I'm a full grown woman, I'm going to live on my own,"

"No you aren't. You are staying here, with us," Her mom interjected.

"Yes I am. I'm legally an adult. You have no say in what I do," Haseul said.

"We are your parents. You listen to us. The ten commandments state 'Thou shall respect thy mother and father,' and god's word is paramount," Said her mom.

"Cut the 'holier than thou' shit, I don't even believe in God," Said Haeul.

"YOU WILL NOT SWEAR IN THIS HOUSE!" Her dad yelled.

"I can say whatever I want. I'm an adult and the law guarantees free speech," Haseul said calmly.

"You need us to keep you in line. Without us, you would be a failure. You would be off kissing girls and being the filthy dyke you are," Her mother said.

"This has nothing to do with sexuality. I can do just fine on my own, and you two assholes just hold me back," She turned to leave, only to feel a hand on her throat.

"Let go of me," Haseul said.

"No. You are staying here. And I think you need to be reminded, we are your parents, I am god in this household," Her dad snarled.

"And I think you need some punishment to put you in your pl-"

He was cut off by Haseul's fist landing directly on his nose with a loud snap. Her dad staggered backwards.

_Damn, that felt good._

Her dad stood up, holding his bleeding nose.

"You're done, kid,"

Haseul reached for the door handle, but she was too slow. Her dad grabbed the back of her top, and threw her against the counter. 

"In time, you will learn, you are nothing but a subordinate," Her dad whispered.

He yanked her hair, and brought his fist down on her face, again and again. And again. And again. Tears rolled down Haseul's cheeks. 

"Dad! Stop!" Her brother tried pulling him off of her, but his dad shoved him to the floor. 

"Y-YOU'RE GOING TO HELL, YOU BASTARD!" Haseul screamed in between sobs.

Her hand fumbled across the counter behind her, feeling for something to hit him with. She felt the handle of something, and immediately swung it at his neck

His eyes went wide. She had grabbed a knife.

Blood spurted from his neck. He gagged on the blood rushing from his throat. Her mother shrieked. 

A new feeling flooded her body. This was _justice._ She kicked her bleeding father to the floor. She looked over to her shaking mother, brandishing her bloodied knife.

"Dear mother, you have sinned. And today is judgement day,"

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how long this chapter was. The introduction chapters are never this lengthy.


	5. Clockwork Odium | Hyejoo

"Give me my watch back, dipshit," Hyejoo snapped.

"Oooh, a bold one aren't you?" Said Gahyeon. She continued to fiddle with the expensive silver watch she had snatched from Hyejoo's wrist. "I could make your life hell, bitch." Gahyeon's clique snickered behind her. 

"I'll tell the whole school what an edgy, retarded freak you are, and nobody will ever talk to you. Nobody," She said.

Hyejoo clenched her fist. She couldn't stoop to the level of stupidity Gahyeon was on with more uncreative, pointless insults. She needed to learn her place.

"Gahyeon, leave the poor thing alone. Haven't you done enough?" Said a small blonde girl behind her.

"Sorry, Chaewon, but she needs to realize that she is a worthless freak," She turned to one of the other girls. "Does this watch look good on me?" The girls giggled, except for the blonde, who mouthed the word 'tell a teacher'. She couldn't tell a teacher, she wouldn't only be known as the freaky emo girl, she'd also be a snitch. She needed to end this. Knock some sense into this bitch.

"Oh, I almost forgot you were here! Forgot you needed attention to live. Did the self harm not get mommy and daddy to look at you?" Gahyeon sneered. The whole crowd collectively gasped.

Hyejoo was silent. Her veins flooded with absolute loathing. This hag needed to be punished.

"Ooooh, did I hurt your fragile little ego? Go cry to your parents who don't love you. The guidance counselor has had enough of you,"

That was the last straw. Hyejoo grabbed Gahyeon by the neck and slammed her against the bathroom stall. Her clique took that as their queue to run.

"Do you want me to hurt you, cunt?" Hyejoo said. Gahyeon whimpered. "DO YOU?" She screamed in her ear.

"N-no..." Gahyeon sobbed.

"Well, that's too bad. Disgusting blots on society like you don't deserve the lives they've been given. But, I will let you live you just this once. Tell your rich, materialistic parents to get you some therapy when you get out of the hospital,"

"Please! D-don't hurt me!" Gahyeon stuttered.

Hyejoo clenched her teeth. 

"What should I break first? Hmm... hard decision. I guess I'll start with that pretty face of yours,"

Gahyeon was slammed against the stall door, and thrown to the floor. Her nose was bleeding heavily. Hyejoo stomped down on her head, earning her a muffled shriek. She lifted her up slowly.

"Y-you will pay for this... You're going to prison when I get out of here," Gahyeon mumbled, blood pouring down her face.

"You think I'm done with you?" Hyejoo said. A look of terror rolled over Gahyeon's face. Hyejoo grabbed the back of her head and slammed her against the corner of the sink, with so much force the sink cracked. Blood splattered against the mirror. 

"Gahyeon, look at what used to be your face," Hyejoo held her face up enough for her to see. Her face was covered in a mixture of blood and tears, and her nose so badly broken it looked more like a hole than a nose. Gahyeon screamed. She then saw she was missing multiple teeth.

Hyejoo was impressed she was still conscious. She couldn't have that. She grabbed her hair again and slammed her forehead against the sink once more. A bloody and unconscious Gahyeon collapsed to the floor.

This was her payback for 7 years of bullying, stolen property, and social isolation. She had not only stood up for herself, but she had sent the message that bullying would not be tolerated. Admittedly, she was a little brutal, but it was oddly fun, getting her well deserved revenge.

"I'll take that," Hyejoo said, taking her silver watch back and sliding it back on her wrist

She then realized the situation she was in. It looked like a murder scene in there. Gahyeon was a bloody mess on the floor. The sink and the floor were covered in blood, and she could make out a few shattered teeth laying around.

She had to get out. She did her best to wash the blood off of her hands, and dashed out of the bathroom. On her way out, somebody grabbed her arm. She jerked around, praying it wasn't a teacher. Fortunately, it wasn't. It was the little blonde girl that had tried to stand up for her before.

"Hey, sorry about Gahyeon back there. She has always been a bitch. You didn't beat her up too bad, right?"

"Sorry, but I need to get out of here," She pulled away from her grasp. Chaewon stood there, processing what just happened.

"Oh my god." Chaewon said. She took off after her, calling for her to stop. 

Hyejoo heard somebody chasing after her. She had never been the most active, but the adrenaline was pushing her past her normal limits. She slammed through the door, sprinting towards her car as fast as she could. 

She fumbled with her keys, finally managing to unlock the door. She jumped inside, and shifted it into reverse. Before she could hit the gas, she heard a knock. That Chaewon girl from before was tapping at the window. 

_Dammit._

She rolled down the window.

"Where the hell are you going?" Chaewon asked.

"That doesn't matter. Get in," She asked.

"What?"

"You chased me all the way out here. So get in,"

Chaewon opened the door and climbed in. Hyejoo backed the car out of the parking space, and took off down the highway.

"So, now that we're in the car, where are we going?" Chaewon asked.

"A place I go when I need to be away from people, I should be fine there until the whole situation diffuses," Hyejoo replied.

"Did you kill her?" Chaewon asked.

"What? Why w-"

" _Did you kill her_?" Chaewon asked again, slightly louder.

"No. She should live," Hyejoo said.

"Should? What the hell? What did you do to her?"

"Look, all I did was knock out a couple teeth and bust up her face, she will be fine," She knew that was an understatement, but she didn't want to scare Chaewon off.

"Okay," Chaewon said. 

The car remained silent for some time. Too silent. And Hyejoo hated small talk.

"You mind if I put on some music?" Chaewon asked.

Hyejoo groaned quietly. She hated most, if not all mainstream music.

"It's a little intense, you might not like it," Chaewon asked.

"Sure, but it can't be that intense, I mean the stuff I l-"

She stopped mid sentence when she heard a very familiar guitar riff come through the speakers. 

"Oh my god, you like Suicide Silence too?" Hyejoo asked, beaming.

"Hell yes! Disengage is one of my favorite songs!" Chaewon said back.

Chaewon did not seem like a deathcore kid at all. This was a pretty big surprise to Hyejoo.

"It's nice to finally meet another metalhead. I never have anyone to talk to when it comes to music. Or anything, really..." Hyejoo trailed off.

"Yeah, I surprised myself. For the longest time, I've only listened to pop and r&b, but I like to think I've expanded my horizons," Chaewon said.

"You listen to pop?" Hyejoo asked.

"Yeah, is there something wrong with that?"

"No, not at all, just not my kind of music,"

The two rambled on about their bizarre music tastes for a while, until they turned onto a forested dirt road.

"Is this the place?" Chaewon asked.

"Almost there," Hyejoo replied.

As the car moved forward, a shape began to come into view. It was behind some tree cover, but once they were a little closer, the building became visible. It was an old, overgrown parking garage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rip mitch lucker


	6. The First Collision | Jiwoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, any non-character introduction chapter will be full length.

"What the hell?" Jiwoo mumbled. That couldn't be a real body. It sure smelled like one though. She looked closer and saw that it was crawling with maggots. How did she not notice the flies? Actually, that wasn't the only spot where there was flies. Almost every boarded up hole was swarming with flies.

"F-fuck, fuck, fuck," She said. Her heart was racing. Wait, did that mean that painting wasn't paint...?

_Thump._

She jumped at the sound of a car door closing. Was that the person who had made this? Were they back with another person to use as a human paint can? She didn't know what to do. She heard footsteps coming from the stairwell. Her survival instinct kicked in, and she dived into the bed of an old pickup.

The door to the stairwell opened. She heard erratic footsteps, heavy breathing, and the sound of something dragging on the floor. She held her breath as she heard the footsteps move closer. She heard a strained grunt, and she barely managed to hold in a surprised yelp as a heavy suitcase landed directly on her. She didn't want to guess what was inside.

The mystery person unzipped something, and something sounding a bit like a tarp was laid out on the floor. She then heard a clip to something being undone, and the sound of a box being opened. What happened next stunned her. This person starts playing a song. She didn't know her strings instruments very well, but based on the pitch, it sounded like a... cello?

Jiwoo, mustering up all of her courage, peeked over the gate of the bed. The person was a young woman that couldn't be any older than herself. She was stunningly attractive, with brown bob-cut hair and a sharp v shaped jawline. One of her eyes was brown, while the other was a dull grey. She noticed that she had a black eye and a slight nosebleed. She wore a dirty suit and tie, stained with what she hoped was ketchup. This girl couldn't be a murderer.

Not realizing how long she had been staring, the girl caught sight of her.

"Hey!" She yelled, standing up. 

_Shit._

She ducked back down into the truck bed, praying to every god that she had ever heard of that she would live.

The woman looked over the truck bed, and Jiwoo curled into a ball.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Don't hurt me!" Jiwoo screamed.

"Why would I... fuck, get up," The girl said.

Jiwoo sat up and climbed out of the truck bed, backing away cautiously.

"Now who are you, and why are you here?" The now visibly shorter girl said.

"I'm Jiwoo, and I c-came here on a walk, and then I found those dead bodies, and then you came and-"

"Jesus Christ, slow down," The woman paused trying to process the barrage of information. She raised her eyebrows. "Did you say dead bodies?"

"T-those..." Jiwoo said, pointing to the hole in the floor. The girl walked over, and looked in. She retched at the sight.

"I was about to ask why it reeked so damn bad in here, but I think that answers my question,"

"Wait, so you didn't do that?" Jiwoo asked.

"No, I didn't. Why would you think that?"

"There's blood on your shirt," Jiwoo said. The girl looked down. Her blazer had a metallic sheen splattered across the front, and the button-up underneath was basically red. 

"Oh fuck, I need to wash this," The girl replied.

"W-why is there blood on your shirt?" Jiwoo asked.

"I got attacked, and I fought back, so I came here. Does that answer your question?" 

Jiwoo was relieved. This girl wasn't a murderer. It was just a coincidence. Maybe she was being too hopeful, but there was really no reason not to believe her.

"Now why don't you go home. You look exhausted. And forget you saw me, okay?" The girl said.

"Okay, but I didn't catch your name," Jiwoo asked.

"Haseul. Jo Haseul," She replied.

"Well, nice to meet you, Jo Haseul. If you need anything, my house isn't too far from here, so you can drop by anytime," Jiwoo said.

"I'm fine. But bring some febreeze if you come back," Haseul said.

She had almost forgot about the dead bodies. What would she do?

"Should I call the police? I mean, there are at least 9 corpses here, and somebody is after you," Jiwoo asked.

"NO! You don't need to do that, I'm just fine, nobody will find me here," Haseul said.

"But what about the corpses in the floor?"

She stopped. The sound of tires on gravel was audible below.

"Hide," Haseul said. She jumped underneath the truck. Jiwoo soon followed. Echoes sounded from the stairwell. The door burst open.

"No, their new album fucking sucks," A new, deep voice said.

"Chelsea Grin is NOT dying!" Said another, high pitched voice. Jiwoo saw a pair of black sneakers and a pair of white heels walk into the room.

"What happened to the floor?" The deeper voice gasped.

"What is that smell?" Said the high pitched voice.

_Probably not murderers,_ Jiwoo thought. She dragged herself out from under the truck. 

"Hey! Stop! I'll step on your face if you come any closer!" Said the one in the black sneakers.

"Jesus, Hyejoo, don't immediately threaten her with violence," Said the one in the heels.

"I won't hurt you! I just thought you were murderers at first," Jiwoo said.

"Why would we..." Jiwoo pointed to the hole in the floor. Both girls looked in. The tiny blonde gagged.

"That's why," Jiwoo said. She watched as the girl keeled down to get a closer look.

"The hell are you..." Jiwoo started.

"About three weeks old. Probably died from blood loss, seeing as there is a pipe in it's jugular," Said Hyejoo.

The little blonde looked stunned.

"What? My dad did autopsies for the police. He taught me a few things," She said.

"Well, that means these bodies are pretty old, do you by any chance know how fresh that blood is?" Jiwoo said, gesturing towards the design on the wall. Hyejoo approached the painting. She inspected it closely, looking at it how a wine connoisseur would look at a fine glass of French stout. She dragged her fingernail against the side of it, earning a collective "Ew" from the other girls. 

"Some of this is really old, like possibly years. That doesn't make much sense since I was here just last month. And a little bit of this is so fresh its still wet. Maybe an hour old,"

Jiwoo shivered. Somebody was murdered here only an hour ago. What if she had showed up any sooner? Would her blood have become part of this visceral masterpiece?

"I-I don't think we should be here," The blonde girl said.

"Its probably just fine, Chaewon. I highly doubt whoever did this is still here. Hey, how long have you been here?" Hyejoo asked, looking towards Jiwoo.

"Probably twenty minutes, why?" Jiwoo asked.

"If they were still here, they would've found you by now," Hyejoo said.

Jiwoo felt another chill. Why were the things this girl was saying scaring her so much?

"Hey, maybe we can give them a proper burial," Said Haseul, coming out from under the truck. The other girls jumped.

"How long have you been here?" Chaewon asked.

"About as long as Jiwoo has," She said. Hyejoo stood silent, staring at nothing.

"We should give them a proper burial. Give them the respect they deserve. They died pretty painful deaths," Hyejoo said out of the blue.

"That sounds nice," Jiwoo said. The other girls nodded. They all then realized they'd have to carry all nine of the dead bodies to the lot behind the garage. 

"We don't need to carry them, we can just drop them off the edge," Said Hyejoo.

"That seems a bit harsh," Chaewon said.

"Its not like they'll feel it," Replied Hyejoo, heaving one of the bodies out from the floor. How was she so unfazed by the stench?

"Well? Are you gonna just stand there and make me do this myself?" Hyejoo asked.

"I'm not touching dead people," Said Chaewon.

"I'll help," Said Haseul. Hyejoo smiled.

There was no way Jiwoo was touching corpses. They could be carrying some horrible disease or something. And she wouldn't mind living her life without knowing how a dead person feels.

After Haseul and Hyejoo had finished lobbing the rotting cadavers off the edge, they all headed down to the back of the garage. The lot at the back of the garage was completely empty and flat. There were no trees, and the grass was tall enough to hide any dirt mounds.

"Well, anybody got a shovel? I'd rather not dig with my hands," Haseul said.

"I've got lighter and some gasoline in my trunk," Hyejoo said. The girls all turned to look at her. 

"Fuel for emergencies! Geez, I'm not that freaky!" Hyejoo yelled. Jiwoo felt a little bad for immediately assuming she was an arsonist.

"I guess cremating them would work," Said Haseul. Hyejoo walked back to her car, popped her trunk, and retrieved a jerry can and a lighter. 

"Line them up in a row," Hyejoo said. Haseul dragged the corpses into a straight line. Hyejoo popped the gas can open, pouring a supple amount of fuel onto each body. 

"Stand back," Hyejoo said. The girls all stepped behind her. She leaned in and lit the gasoline. Flames sprung from the corpses, slowly engulfing them. 

"I recommend holding your breath or stepping back further. You can't unsmell cooking human flesh," Said Hyejoo. The girls held their noses. They all watches as the ashes floated off into the sky, carried by a light breeze. Jiwoo kept quiet until the bodies had been burned completely, wanting to pay her respects.

After the last remnants of the people were scattered bones, Jiwoo spoke up. 

"Did any of you hear about that meteor thing earlier?" 

"Yeah, I haven't actually seen anything yet, I'm wondering if it's actually coming," Said Chaewon.

There was a bright flash in the sky, and a thundering boom. The girls looked up. Up high in the sky, a massive object had exploded. Small glowing streaks were spreading out from the explosion. 

"Holy shit, they weren't lying," Haseul said. They all admired the sight. It was oddly beautiful, like a meteor shower during the daytime.

"Hey. That one looks like it's coming this way," Said Haseul. She pointed towards a glowing ball shooting towards the lot.

"Oh fuck," Said Hyejoo.

Jiwoo turned and ran, diving into the back door of the garage. There was a blinding flash, a bang, and everything went white.


	7. Frostbite | Jinsol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter. Cool thottie Jungeun is just so fun. And of-age Yerim is probably my favorite character in any work.

"Gimme a light, Jinsol," Said Jungeun. Jinsol held her lighter to the cigarette. Jungeun took a long drag, and blew a smoke ring.

"Show off," Jinsol said.

"Smoking is bad for you," Yerim said.

"And we're bad for you, honey. Why do you hang out with us, anyway?" Jungeun said. Yerim shrugged.

"You're too innocent for us," Said Jinsol. She took a drag on her cigarette and blew smoke in Yerim's face.

"Ew, c'mon!" She coughed. "My friends are drug addicts, alcoholics, and have no jobs,"

"Yerim, you drink more than both of us combined. And I don't like to think of cigarettes as drugs, but Jungeun's weed is a different story," Jinsol said. She smoked cigarettes, but not weed. Mostly because weed wasn't legal, but Jungeun didn't care in the slightest. Yerim didn't smoke, and she worked as a barista at the local pub, which was their normal hangout. They really only went there because Yerim would slip them some free drinks every once in a while, and she could mix one hell of a mojito. She was also (quite unsurprisingly) a virgin.

Unlike Yerim had said, Jinsol kind of had a job. Her and Jungeun were part-time rappers, doing local gigs and releasing some of their better albums on ITunes. They had a small following, but the profit they split could not only pay for their apartment, but also take the edge off of Jinsol's student loans. She was majoring in astrophysics, and planned on eventually moving to America to work for NASA. She'd probably have to stop smoking, but there was no way she was giving up her rapping career, especially if she hit it off in the mainstream.

Jungeun, unfortunately, was a NEET and didn't plan on getting a job. She was always in and out of rehab, because Jinsol and Yerim made her go. The weed wasn't too good for her, and they had always known that. It got particularly concerning when she had a psychotic episode and run some poor guy over with her Camaro. He lived, and she had to do some community service, but she got off easy. Fortunately, She was improving, with all the rehab she had been going to.

Jungeun was also the definition of predatory gay, She constantly hit on her two friends. Jinsol had made it clear that their relationship was solely platonic. Yerim, on the other hand, was a pushover and Jungeun constantly flirted with her. Jungeun very frequently touched her in some less than appropriate places. Yerim would say she didn't like it and was 100% straight, until eventually she told Jinsol she was bi. She didn't tell Jungeun for a reason.

Yerim took a swing of her beer, and stood up from the park bench.

"What? What happened?" Jinsol asked. Jungeun took this opportunity to slap Yerim's butt.

"Hey!" Yerim yelled, sitting back down.

"Hands to yourself, thot, she was trying to tell us something. Now, continue,"

"The news says that an asteroid is going to explode in the atmosphere tomorrow," Yerim said, genuine fear in her voice. She turned her phone towards them. Jinsol's scientist ears perked up. She had to see this.

"When is it going to be happening?" Jinsol asked.

"Sometime tomorrow morning," Yerim said.

"So doctor, how long do we have to live? If anyone knows, it would be you," Said Jungeun.

"We're not gonna die, we'll just get a cool light show. The worst that could happen would be a fragment the size of a grain of sand hitting something. And a piece that big could pretty much only destroy a small building,"

"That's a relief, I was looking forward to our show tomorrow. Yerim, get up those free drinks and topless barista signs, we need an audience and there are only ten people that actively come to the bar. And I do expect you to work topless," Jungeun said. Yerim stuck her tongue out at her.

"C'mon Jungeun, you're just jealous that she's not flat like you," Jinsol fired back.

"Flat is justice, hoe," Said Jungeun.

"Can we not talk about my boobs, please?" Said Yerim.

"They're the best part of you," Said Jungeun.

"Screw you, Jungeun. I like to think my optimism is the best part of me," Said Yerim.

"You're a little too optimistic, you broke your ankle breaking up a barfight, and smiled the whole way to the hospital," Said Jinsol.

Jinsol looked to the night sky. She loved her friends. They weren't the most wholesome party, but they were close nonetheless. Jinsol and Jungeun shared an apartment, and Yerim lived just two doors down. They would spend entire evenings playing Super Smash Bros on Jinsol's switch and yell at each other. Jinsol would light a cigarette and Yerim would lecture her on the health risks. And then Jungeun would light a blunt and Yerim would have a conniption. All while Yerim gets absolutely buzzed on Soju.

She was so lost in thought she didn't realise she was on the ground. There was a burly man in front of her waving a knife around. Yerim had absolutely lost her shit. Jungeun shoved the guy back. 

"I dare you to touch my friend again. I fucking dare you," She said. He moved closer and she grabbed him by both of his wrists. They got into sort of a pushing match, the knife going completely unused. He probably wouldn't use it, it was likely just a tool of intimidation.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Yerim screamed.

Jinsol stood up, stepping back. Jinsol had never been a good fighter. She would most definitely lose to this hulk. The man overpowered Jungeun, throwing her to the ground. He kicked her in the gut just to make sure she stayed down.

"Well, now that your skank friend is out of the way, let's get down to business," He eyed Jinsol's Versace handbag. "You look expensive. Hand over the purse," She had saved for this bag for two years. She wasn't letting it go so easy, but she wasn't about to fight. She nudged Yerim. 

Yerim was an incredible fighter. She had to end bar fights almost daily, often getting caught up in them simply because of how extreme some fights became. Jinsol frequently urged her to become an mma fighter, but she always replied with "I don't believe in violence." If there was a time to fight, it was now. 

She looked at Yerim.

"Yerim, I know you don't believe in violence, but please," She pleaded.

"You think your scrawny ass purple haired friend can stop me? Please. Now give me the fucking bag," He demanded. 

"C-c'mon, maybe we can work this out peacefully..." Yerim started.

"GIVE ME THE MOTHERFUCKING BAG!" He yelled, pointing the knife at Jinsol. Yerim snapped. She stepped over Jungeun and stood in front of him.

"Don't talk to Jinsol like that," She said through her clenched teeth. 

"Aww, how cute. Maybe after I take all your friend's shit, I'll treat myself to that beautiful rack of yours," He sneered ogling at her chest.

Yerim got into a fighting stance. The man stifled a laugh.

"Here, I'll go easy on you, don't wanna mess that pretty face up too bad," He said. "I'll give you a free shot," He said, putting his arms to his sides. She didn't hesitate in punching him, softly tapping his cheek with her fist. He looked at her, laughing out loud.

"You call that a punch?" He said, still laughing.

"You let your guard down," Yerim said. A confused look fell on his face. She brought her arm back, and threw a full force punch straight into his sternum. The man was launched backwards, and landed on his back. He rolled on the ground, grasping for air. Jinsol quickly phoned the police.

"Holy shit, Yerim that was the most badass thing you have ever done," Jungeun mumbled. Yerim strutted over to the injured man.

"You better hope I don't see you again. I don't forget," Yerim whispered in his ear.

Holy shit, angry Yerim was terrifying.

The three of them explained to the police what happened. The officer was very impressed at Yerim's combat prowess. So much, that he offered her a job as an officer. She humbly denied, saying that kind of thing wasn't her style. 

They actually brought an ambulance to pick up the guy. He was pretty destroyed, from only one punch. After having a good laugh, they all headed home.

Jinsol woke up, reaching over to hit the snooze on her alarm. The alarm didn't turn off. She realized it was the smoke alarm. She quickly threw on a white crop top and a pair of faded jeans. She stumbled into the kitchen. The window was broken. There was smoke everywhere. She pulled up a chair, reaching up and turning off the alarm. She'd worry about the broken window later and whatever Jungeun's excuse would be.

"Jungeun, stop it with the early morning blunts!" She yelled. No answer. Nobody home. She looked at the key rack. Jungeun's car keys were gone. She'd catch up with her later. She just needed her coffee. She turned on the tv, only to get static. 

"Damn cable..." Jinsol mumbled.

She turned to see her coffee that would normally be full and ready for her spilled on the counter. What the hell happened? She honestly didn't feel like brewing a new cup, so she just drank what was left of it in one gulp. That would be just enough caffeine to get her through the morning.

Before she headed out to find Jungeun, She popped a couple Tylenols because she felt a headache coming on. She grabbed her keys and stepped outside. She took the elevator to the first floor, and notified the leasing office of the broken window. That night's gig would pay off the fees.

She hopped in her car and headed to the first place she would have to look. Her car was painfully hot, so she turned on the a.c. She drove over to the park, to find Yerim and Jungeun sitting on their normal bench talking to some elderly women and feeding bread to the pigeons. She rolled down the window.

"Sorry to ruin your social hour, but we've got to get ready for the show," Said Jinsol. Jungeun and Yerim stood up and headed over to the car.

"Jungeun, you park your Camaro out front. It might make people think clouty people are going," Jinsol said.

"Got it," Jungeun said, hopping in her car. 

"Yerim, ride with me," Jinsol said. Yerim climbed in the front seat.

"Jesus, Jinsol, it's freezing in here!" Yerim said, reaching for the a.c. Jinsol pushed her hand away.

"I'm not sure where that is coming from, but it is smoldering in here. It is way too hot outside today," Jinsol said.

"Weirdo," Yerim mumbled.

They arrived at the bar, Jungeun making sure to park right at the front door. They all got out and went inside.

"Jinsol thinks it's hot," Yerim said.

"What, me? Tell me something I didn't know," Jungeun said.

"Not you, She thinks it's hot outside," 

"What the shit? It's like 70 degrees out," 

"You guys need to get your nerves checked, it is absolutely scorching," Jinsol butted in.

"Whatever, let's set up the stage," Jungeun said.

They dragged the new subwoofers they had bought onto stage, and put up their mic stands. Yerim whipped them up some drinks to pass the time until 3:00. Odd time for a show, but who really cares.

"How many people should be coming?" Asked Jinsol.

"43 people got tickets online, and the rest will be paying to get in when they arrive," Yerim said, polishing a glass. 

"Sweet," Said Jungeun.

"What's the a.c. at?" Jinsol asked.

"It's not hot in here! Where the hell is this coming from?" Said Yerim.

"It is too hot in here. Can you not see the amount of sweat on me?" Jinsol asked. Yerim's eyes went wide.

"Jinsol, your drink..." Yerim started. Jinsol looked down at her drink. It was... freezing? She watched as the beer in her glass turned to ice. 

"Oh my god, you're so pale! We need to get you to a doctor!" Jungeun yelled. Jungeun reached out to hold her face, only to recoil the second she touched her skin. Jinsol looked at her hand. Her skin was white, almost blue.

"Jinsol, you're freezing cold!" She said.

Jinsol ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was completely white, the blue of her veins showing through her skin.

What terrified her the most was the piercing blue glow coming from her pupils.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha one punch choerry


	8. Toxicity | Yerim

"Jinsol! Are you okay in there?" Yerim exclaimed, pounding on the door. No reply. There was a loud snap, and the sound of glass breaking.

"Open the door or we're breaking it open!" Jungeun yelled. Still no response, only the sound of things breaking. Yerim shoulder charged into the door, knocking it off it's hinges. She'd fix it later. All that mattered now was helping Jinsol.

She peeked in, and it was a sight to behold. The pipe to the sink had burst, and water was spraying out, freezing as soon as it left the pipe. That's what was making that sound. The ice shattering against the floor. The walls of the room were covered in frost, and what looked like snowflakes were blowing around. In the center of all this, was Jinsol, laying sprawled out on the floor.

Yerim stepped in, shuddering when she felt the cold air against her skin. She lifted Jinsol, slinging her over her shoulder. Her skin was cold. Dangerously cold. She didn't mind, though. Her fingers could freeze off for all she cared. She was going to help her.

She stumbled out of the bathroom, laying Jinsol down on the bar. 

"You know how dry ice feels?" Yerim said.

"No," Jungeun replied.

"Well, it's so cold it burns. That's what her skin feels like," Yerim said. Jungeun felt her chest.

"Now's not the time, Jungeun," Said Yerim.

"I'm checking for breathing," She replied. She held her hand there for a few seconds.

"She's breathing, but really really slowly," Said Jungeun.

"Is that bad?" Yerim asked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I'm not a doctor!" Jungeun yelled. Jungeun held her wrist, pressing two fingers to her pulse like she had seen on medical dramas. She winced at the touch of her painfully cold skin.

"Her heart is beating, but again, really really slowly," Jungeun said. 

"How the fuck did this happen?" Yerim shouted. She was so scared she had started swearing, which she never did.

"I-I don't know, I can't tell if she's sick or-" 

"So sick people make goddamn pipes burst? This is clearly not normal!" Yerim said.

"Yeah, they don't, and they don't become so cold that it hurts to touch them either," Jungeun said, rubbing her forehead. 

"W-what's going on?" A quiet voice said from the table. Both girls looked over. Jinsol's eyes had opened, albeit only a little, and she wasn't nearly as pale.

"Oh my god, Jinsol," Jungeun said, hugging her. She wasn't cold anymore. Actually quite warm.

"She's warm again," Said Jungeun, turning to Yerim. She was relieved Jinsol was okay, but she still needed to know what had just happened.

"Jinsol, you were out cold. Quite literally, actually," Yerim said.

"I know. I remember what happened before I passed out. My eyes were glowing blue when I looked in the mirror, and I think it scared me bad enough I fainted," Jinsol said. What the hell? How was she so okay with this?

"Why are you so okay with this? Do you not understand the urgency of this? You were so cold that you burst a pipe in the bathroom!" Yerim said.

"Yeah, I know. Okay, this is gonna sound weird, but you're just gonna have to believe me,"

"After seeing what I just saw, nothing could be that unbelievable," Jungeun said.

"Yeah, I agree. Fire away," Yerim interjected.

"Alright... so, while I was out, I had sort of a dream. But really realistic. Like I was actually there, not the weird fuzziness of a dream. And there was nothing, except for me, and this... thing," Jinsol said.

"And what was this thing?" Asked Yerim.

"Well, it looked kind of like an octohedron, but made of ice. It had rows and rows of tiny green dots on it's front, like eyes or something. And it had these freaky blue spider legs on the bottom, and it had like six of them. And even though it was huge, like super imposingly large, it just felt friendly. And it was talking to me, but without words, like with really unclear thoughts. Mostly single words and images,"

"What was it telling you?" Asked Jungeun.

"It told me that it is the representation of cold in its purest form. It said that I had ingested part of it's body, and now I was connected with it. I didn't understand how I had ingested part of it, but it said a fragment of it's body had landed in a liquid, and I had drank it, and I should be thankful that it's fragment hadn't detonated, or something like that. And then it told me that I had to stay cold, since warmth has become my enemy. That explains why I thought it was hot earlier," 

"So, what I'm getting from this, is that you have ice superpowers now?" Jungeun said. Jinsol shrugged.

"It said it would take time to master my new abilities. But in the end they would help protect me and my friends," Jinsol said. Jungeun paused.

"From what?" Jungeun asked.

"Don't know, the dream ended after that," Jinsol replied.

"Okay. Well that does explain a lot," Yerim said. 

"Hey, what should we do about the show?" Asked Jinsol.

"Well, seeing as the bathroom is trashed, and you have basically no control over your new ice powers, we should probably postpone a few days," Said Jungeun.

"Here, I'll cancel tonight and move it to Thursday," Said Yerim, taking out her phone.

"Who the fuck goes to a bar on Thursdays?" Said Jinsol.

"Fine, I'll move it to Friday. I'll have to free up my schedule, though," Yerim said.

"So, super Jinsol, since you have no control over your abilities and we can't predict another random flare-up, what do you say we go get you some practice?" Asked Jungeun.

"Is this just an excuse for us to play around with my new powers?" Said Jinsol. Jungeun smiled.

"You know me so well,"

Jungeun pulled up in the alleyway next to the mall. They didn't want such a nice car to be visible in such a shady area. They had gone to a dead, abandoned district of town that was full of empty buildings, warehouses, and old lots. Perfect place for fucking around with superpowers, as well as a great place to cook meth.

After fighting over what old building to 'renovate', they decided to go to the old mall. It was for the most part empty, and they shouldn't have a hard time finding things to destroy. The automatic doors wouldn't open, so Jungeun took the job of smashing them with a pipe she found in the alley.

They wandered around for a while, taking the liberty of robbing a few vending machines. They then disposed of the food upon finding it was long expired. They kept a few old bottles of Coke for... research purposes. They then dragged a few mannequins out from a clothing store, which sadly, was completely empty. Jungeun lined the Mannequins up against the wall, and placed the coke bottles along the railing.

"Okay, so me being the marvel enthusiast I am, came up with a few ideas for what abilities you might have. These are just ideas so don't expect them to work," She said, taking out a sticky note.

"Any decent ice based superhero can make things cold, but that's boring. We need to see some cool shit," Jungeun said.

"I'm not a superhero. Honestly, that sounds really dumb in real life. And before you ask, no I won't be fighting crime," Jinsol said.

"You better not be fighting crime," Jungeun said.

"Okay, let's get on with it. What's the first one," 

"Try to see if you can throw ice or something, just as a test," Jungeun said.

"How do I do that?" Jinsol asked. Jungeun made a throwing motion.

"I know how to throw, smartass. How am I supposed to do whatever you said before?" Jinsol said.

"I dunno, think cold thoughts and throw?" Jungeun said.

"Cold thoughts? What the hell are cold thoughts?" Jinsol asked.

"Look, I have no idea what we're doing. Can you just try to use your powers?" Jungeun asked.

"I'll try," Jinsol said. Jinsol tried to think of something that would make sense as a superpower. Ice breath? That seemed like a normal superpower. She approached the mannequin. She took a deep breath, and exhaled as hard as she could. A small white cloud puffed from her mouth.

"That was pathetic, but it's a start," Jungeun said.

After a few hours of experimenting, Jinsol found that if she blew instead of exhaled, She could get a large blast of icy air. She managed to make one of the mannequins crumble, and accidentally made the one next to it lose an arm in the process. She also found she could grow her nails out into claws made of ice, which were sharp enough to cut through the steel bars blocking the mall's jewelry store. They quickly looted it's stock, despite Yerim's protests.

After many failed attempts at finding new abilities, Jinsol speared a trash can on an ice spike that shot from the ground out of sheer frustration. This sparked another idea, which led to Jinsol shaping makeshift weapons out of ice. This wasn't nearly as effective as her other abilities, but turned out to be a lot of fun. After some encouragement from Jungeun, Jinsol created a certain male organ on a very large scale, leading to Yerim scolding them for being so immature. Jinsol then deemed this ability only effective for making temporary walls and building giant penises, since the weapons would more often then not shatter when swung. 

They decided to head home, since it was already past midnight, but not before vandalizing the place a little more by spray painting some suggestive phrases on the walls. They blared City Girls with the windows down the whole way home.

Yerim opened her dry, aching eyes. She smashed the snooze button on her alarm clock. She hated working early shifts at the pub. Why the hell did this pub even run at 5:00 AM? She stumbled into her bathroom, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her lips were chapped. What a way to wake up.

She put in some eye drops, and put in her contacts. She could practically taste her own breath, so she knew her teeth needed brushing. She put some toothpaste on the brush, and started brushing her teeth. She felt a strange fizzing sensation in her mouth, and the smell of burning plastic filled the room. Yerim took the toothbrush out of her mouth. Half of it was missing. She opened her mouth, and saw that her saliva was an opaque purple. She spit into the sink and the purple liquid hissed as it touched the ceramic of the sink. She watched it as it slowly corroded through the bottom of her sink.

She quickly called Jinsol.

"The fuck do you want? It's 5:00 in the morning," Jinsol groaned.

"Jinsol, my spit just melted through the bottom of my sink,"


	9. Second Chance | Ak'Tir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm diverging from the normal storyline to give some backstory on one character as well as explaining another.

I stood over the heap of metal that used to be a car. The flames billowing from the engine stood frozen in time. The six others involved in the crash would live without my intervention, but the young woman inside would not. Did she deserve a second chance? One of her broken ribs had ripped through her right lung. She would die a slow, painful death.

I opened my third eye and gazed into her mind. Ha Sooyoung, 23, natively korean, single, lesbian. Stable mental condition, save for auditory hallucinations that manifested as voices. No notable criminal record. Went to college, worked as a waitress on weekends. Enjoyed reading, horror movies, and fine dining. Disliked men, but didn't act on it. Rarely spoke disrespectfully, online and in person.

I looked into her future. I could get a vague idea of what would go on in her near future, like major events and if she would die soon after. I couldn't forsee death in her near future. Apparently, a life changing event would happen soon and because of it, she would meet the love of her life. Not once in my eons of saving and ending lives, had I come across someone with an event like this in their future. Whatever it was, it was enough to effect thousands of others, although I couldn't tell if it was positive or negative.

This girl didn't deserve to die. She had done nothing wrong. I couldn't save everyone, then no one would fear death, but this girl... something told me that she needed to live. I partially mended her wounds, enough to keep her alive, but not enough to be suspicious. Her car was blown apart, and walking away without injuries would be nothing short of a miracle.

One thing I loved about being on a different time scale was the wind. The wind seemed to persist even when one second was an hour. The wind would blow through my hair, and the feeling of the cool air against my skull was euphoric. I stood next to the burning car, basking in the soft breeze one last time before I let the chaos of the world begin once more.


	10. No Escape | Sooyoung

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING! 
> 
> This chapter has potentially triggering content! Do not read if you:
> 
> Are easily disturbed  
> Have a weak stomach  
> Have played The Evil Within 
> 
>   
> I just finished a nodeffs run of Dark Souls 3 and I feel so accomplished:)

Sooyoung's ears were ringing. Well, more than usual at least. Her eyes wouldn't cooperate, not even opening a sliver. Her eyelids were so heavy. She tried her best to move, to sit up, but she was completely numb. She was oddly relaxed, not having to see or move for once. It was blissful, in a way, just sitting silently in a warm, empty darkness. 

To her dismay, She felt a cold pressure in her left arm, and she rose from her unaware state. She opened her eyes. The bright lights burned her eyes. She squinted, looking around. The room had sea green walls, white cabinets lining the walls. The next thing she noticed was an obnoxious beeping noise. A heart monitor. She looked to her left, spotting a heart monitor, and an iv stand. There was someone standing next to her, holding something that looked like a syringe. She hated needles.

Her mind was still a little foggy, but it didn't take a detective to realize what was going on. 

"Before you ask, no, you're not dying. You're just very seriously injured. And do yourself a favor and try not to talk too much. You're already on enough painkillers," He said. Sooyoung nodded. The doctor took out a clipboard. 

"So, I'm going to give you the bad news first," He said, flipping to another page. "Helps some people to hear the negatives before,"

"The bad news is, you have sustained severe nerve damage in the lower vertebrae of your spine, meaning you may never walk again," Sooyoung felt her heart sink. Never walk again? How would she function as a human being?

"The good news is, that crash should have killed you, but you lived. Barely, but you made it out of that accident with no internal bleeding, no ruptured organs, no brain damage. Just fractures and nerve damage. You should be thankful, someone up there is on your side," Said the doctor. That last part sent a chill up her spine, or at least the upper part of it. She didn't know why such a harmless statement made her so uncomfortable.

"And if you're wondering what's broken, both of your arms, most of your ribs, and your collarbone," She wasn't wondering. She actually was hoping he wouldn't tell her. She didn't plan on moving anyway. The pain was starting to set in. 

"If you need anything, just press this button with your foot," He gestured to a small call button at the foot of her gurney. She found it a little interesting how they had specialized beds for people that couldn't use their arms. The doctor waved and left the room. Now it was just her. It felt so lonely. Normally, She had Goemul to keep her company, but she just wasn't here. She wouldn't even show in her time of need? The only thing she needed at this point was Goemul. She missed her already. She was always with her.

She closed her eyes, begging her brain for sleep, but whatever drugs she was pumped full of wouldn't allow that. All she could do was think. Thinking was nice, but not in a situation like this. You can't save someone from themselves. She tried to focus on the thumping pain running through her entire upper body. Sooyoung used the pain to smother her self-destructive personality. She couldn't let herself get in her head. Eventually, She succumbed to her own mind, and let the thoughts overwhelm her. She was too mentally exhausted to make an effort to stop them.

The first thing that came to mind was the possible paralysis. Her lower half was now completely useless. She couldn't move or feel anything below her waist. Sooyoung then realized, her future sex life was ruined. If she ever got a girlfriend, She wouldn't be able to properly make love to them. She couldn't feel anything down there. And this also meant her main form of stress relief was snatched from her broken hands. She had serious anxiety problems, and she if she didn't defuse her stress, she would have breakdowns, so her go-to method of blowing off steam was to... well, _do dirty things_. 

She felt something under her toe. It was a small switch, next to the call button. Her contacts weren't in, and her glasses were on the nightstand, so she focused as hard as she could on the words above it. She was the word "curtains" and immediately flipped it. There was a quiet whirring noise, and the curtains covering one of the walls retracted. She did the best she could to turn her head, despite the disapproving crack coming from her collarbone. She didn't care if it hurt, She just wanted to see the sky.

The whole left wall of the room was a window. She was obviously on a very high floor, since she could see the whole city. The sun peeked just over the skyline. It was a beautiful sight, almost taking her mind off of the stabbing pain in her upper chest. Oh, how she wish Goemul was here. Goemul didn't get out much, so this would be a nice change of pace for her.

She squinted, as something was brightly shining in the sky. Planes sometimes could have a glare to them, but she had never seen something this bright. There was an earth shaking bang, and she saw as the shining object seemed to get bigger. Her heart sank. It wasn't getting bigger, it was getting closer. Whatever it was, it was approaching at a horrifying speed. Not only was it going terrifyingly fast, it was heading straight towards Sooyoung. 

She was going to die. After all of this hassle, all of this pain. For what? Just for her to turn around and die a day later? She slowly began to push herself off of the gurney. Inch by agonising inch, she dragged herself to the floor. Despite the protest from her nerves, and the distinct sound of grinding bones, she pushed forward. She was almost at the door. But she was too slow. There was a loud bang, and the sound of glass shattering. She felt a scorching pain as the object pierced into her shoulder. She screamed, and her consciousness faded.

She snapped awake. 

_Thank god, it was just a dream._ She then realize this wasn't her bedroom. She was lying on a cold linoleum floor, in a pool of dark liquid. The room was dark, only lit by a light on the ceiling that cast an unsettling red glow across the room. Something was very wrong. She slowly lifted herself to her feet. She was covered in what she hoped wasn't her own blood. The metallic stench didn't help either. She stumbled out of the door, the world slowly coming together around her. Sooyoung remembered what the doctor had said. She might never walk again. But she was standing. Her whole body had feeling as well, and nothing felt even remotely broken. This was far too realistic to be a dream.

This was the least of her concerns right now. She could smell a tinge of smoke behind the scent of blood, and the emergency lights were on. She could only assume the sprinklers wouldn't be turning on in these conditions. She needed to get out. She ran to the door and turned the handle, only to find it was locked.

"Fuck! Open!" She yelled, hitting the door with her fists. To her surprise, the door buckled and flew off it's hinges. If that wasn't shocking enough, immediately outside the door was a pile of bodies. Sooyoung would've gagged, but something inside her felt different. The sight of the mangled bodies laying in front of her didn't disturb her in the slightest. She took this as her cue to bolt. She sprinted as fast as she could, her body flooding with an abnormally large spike of adrenaline. She was running faster than she had ever run in her life, the doors she was passing blurred from her speed. She turned the corner, only to stop. There was an elevator, and a stairwell. She could see smoke and ash billowing from under the door of the stairs. She'd have to pass on that. 

She eyed the elevator. The doors had large gashes and splits, looking like someone had went at it with a power saw. She didn't have time to question random details. She needed to escape. She was hoping that the elevator cables would be accessible. She pried the elevator doors open with almost no effort. Thankfully, the cables were still there. They were swaying, indicating that they weren't attached to the elevator. The cables were broken, but there was no immediate signs as to why they had broken. The cables were at least six feet from the doors. She would have to get a running start.

She stepped back, before making a dash towards the door. She jumped, but severely underestimated her speed and slammed into the back wall of the shaft. She was in a free fall, desperately grasping for the cables. She knew if she grabbed them, she'd rip the flesh from her hands, but that didn't matter. She was so close...

_Smash._

She crashed through the roof of the elevator. She shakily stood up. She was alive. She had fallen pretty hard, but it didn't even hurt. She was on at least the 8th story so the fall _should've_ killed her. But it didn't. She was starting to believe some god was on her side.

Using her newfound strength, She tore the doors from the elevator, and stepped out. The lobby was almost completely dark, save for a single red light on the ceiling. This light illuminated the room just enough for her to see the piles of organs strewn around the room. There were bloody intestines dangling from the the ceiling. Hunks of flesh were scattered across the floor. There was even a child's decapitated head on one of the desks. She was completely unfazed by the excessive amount of viscera, but she did notice one thing different. There was someone, or something in the corner, sloppily eating a pair of lungs, while tearing a still screaming person's ribcage open. It was likely able to do this because of how many arms the thing had.

She couldn't make out much of it, other than that it was mostly black, with at least eight arms, two of them being extremely large and ending in disturbingly long fingers. It had no legs and seemed to be moving using its longer arms. It was casting a deep purple glow from its front, which she couldn't see because of the angle. She slowly stepped forward, moving towards the door. She misstepped, and stepped on something squishy. The noise got the monster's attention. It snapped around towards her. It's front was even worse than the rest of it. It had a vertical mouth, with teeth growing from the sides. It's mouth was pouring blood, likely from the entire corpse it had just consumed. It's most striking feature was its eye. It was an oval shaped purple eye, with no visible pupil. The thing sat in place for a second, confused, before lunging at Sooyoung.

Time seemed to slow down. Not knowing what to do, Sooyoung got ready to fight. She could punch a solid steel door off of its hinges. This couldn't be too bad. The thing crashed into her. Swiping at her with its long, clawed arms. She ducked, and threw a punch at its eye. It landed, and it screeched in pain. It staggered back onto its claws. It's mouth opened wide, and it charged her. She couldn't punch its mouth. It would surely eat her.

She felt a light tingle in her right hand. Her skin turned a dark red, and quickly stretched into a long, curved, thin structure, with uneven, crooked teeth lining the edge. She was surprised, but she shouldn't question it. Not now. She brought the blade back, and plunged it into the charging creature's eye. The creature leaped back, shrieking and holding its eye. Grey tatters of flesh began to dissolve off the monster, until it was nothing more than a pile of dust. Sooyoung let the blade retract, watching it return to the shape of a normal hand. Covered in blood, grey dust, and chunks of flesh, She stepped outside.


	11. Tempered | Yeojin

Yeojin stared absent mindedly at the store shelves. She needed something manageable, as not to take her focus away from her game. The less time she had to have her hands off the keyboard the better. The raid was in thirty minutes so she needed to make a decision, but she was just so anxious. Her and her guild had been preparing for this for two months. Yeojin couldn't be late, they'd start without her, and she could never forgive herself for deserting her guild after promising she'd be there.

She finally decided on some instant ramen. She could just slurp it up while playing. It wouldn't degrade her performance at all. 

Yeojin speedwalked toward the self checkout. She quickly bagged her items, swiped her debit card, and booked it out the door. Twenty minutes.

She was within walking distance, but now she was regretting not taking her car. Every extra second she took was wasted time. She checked her watch. What Yeojin noticed wasn't that she had fifteen minutes, it was the reflection of a looming figure behind her. She looked over her shoulder. Nothing. She must've been tired, She was seeing things.

Yeojin picked up her pace as her apartment came into view. Ten minutes. She sprinted past the perpetually out of order elevator and up the stairs. She fumbled with her keys and threw her door open. At superhuman speeds, she simultaneously logged onto her laptop and started her ramen. Five minutes. She poured her finished ramen into a bowl, and in her panic, Yeojin shoved her laptop into her pants so she could carry her ramen. She ran to her room and sat down at her desk. She swept off all of her textbooks and writing utensils, and slammed her ramen and laptop down. She quickly logged onto the local server, and she was in. Yeojin felt a wave of relief as her chat was relentlessly spammed. 

**409** **AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ]** **Oh jesus I though you wouldn't show**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah srsly we're starting in two minutes where were you?**

**409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] I was buying dinner. I have to eat retards**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Good to know that you cannibalize mentally handicapped people**

**409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] You know what I mean**

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Better be sticking to your diet, we're supposed to be EGirlForce not My Rolls Have Rolls Force**

**409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] I'm eating a healthy dinner for your fuckin information**

She took an unnecessarily loud slurp of her ramen.

**409 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] And what is this "healthy dinner"?**

**409 Loud[EGirlForce] Instant ramen**

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Dammit yeojin that's not healthy**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Dammit yeojin**

**409 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Dammit yeojin**

She took another slurp of ramen, almost mockingly, despite them clearly not being able to see each other.

**409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Are we gonna get going or what**

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah, all of you teleport to me. I'm just outside the courtyard of the tower**

Yeojin flipped through her spellbook until she found the right page. Not being a dedicated mage meant having to use chunky spelbooks to cast anything. She quickly casted greater teleportation and warped to Vivi.

She looked up. Yeojin marveled at the sight. The Spear of Limbo. The final monument raid before entering the 43rd plane to fight High Watcher Graephus. In her entire 2 years of playing this game, she never thought she and her friends would make it here. All they had to do was defeat the sentinels, the golem, and the mythic titan, and then they could climb to the top so they could ascend to the 43rd plane. 

They had come prepared, with full loadouts of their most powerful weapons and their rarest consumables. Yeojin was the dps, bringing her Skysplitter Greatbow and her Ancient Greataxe. Hyunjin was the consistent damage, carrying Dual Moray Daggers and a Sunstrike Shortbow. Heejin was the Cleric, with various levels of healing and resistance spells, as well as a Neptune Shotel and a Devastation as a trump card. Vivi was the guild's most powerful (and only) mage. She had an offensive spell of every element, even carrying a Rift Slash, and her only weapon was her Forbidden Scepter which could serve as a melee weapon in a pinch.

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] You all ready?**

**409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Ready**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Ready**

**409 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Ready**

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Let's get going then**

They all began to walk towards the courtyard of the tower. The first fight would be with the Sentinels. They were swarms of tiny machines that could collectively annihilate your hp, no matter how heavy your armor set was. Piercing, wide sweeping, and AoE weapons were basically a requirement for the first part. 

Yeojin looked up at the tower. Only a few more steps towards the gate and the walls of this monumental pillar would be spouting tiny robots. She sighed, and stepped onto the metal floor of the courtyard. There was a deep rumble, and the battle music started. The walls of the tower ejected what looked more like clouds than sentinels.

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Stand back, I'm gonna cast inferno 10. Should vaporize most of them, but the survivors will be on me in an instant. I don't exactly have the toughest armor so I'm gonna need you all to keep me alive while I'm on cooldown**

**409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Got it**

**409 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Sure thing, but keep mobile, I'd like you to stay alive**

Yeojin drew her greatbow, loading a massive arrow into it. She had invested so much time in getting her strength high enough to simply pull it back. It was called the Skysplitter for a reason. 

_**You have received spell effect Resistance IX!**_

__ **409 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Thx Heejin**

**409 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah thanks babe**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] NP**

Vivi held up her Forbidden Scepter as the swarm of sentinels approached. The end of the scepter was engulfed in green flames. Black scorch marks coalesced across the metal beneath her, and the air rippled with heat.

**_LordVivian[EGirlForce] casts Inferno!_**

The ground shook as a thin green streak rocketed from the end of Vivi's scepter. The green glow disappeared into the swarm of sentinels. Everything was silent for a second, and a blinding green light pulsed from inside the swarm. There was a thunderous boom, and shrapnel and burning hunks of sentinel spewed from the blast. As the smoke cleared, clusters of the remaining bots glided towards Vivi. Hyunjin let loose a volley of molten arrows, striking down sentinel after sentinel. Yeojin carefully aimed her bow towards the speedy little machines. She could only carry so many of the heavy arrows this bow fired, so she had to make her shots count. She let go of the string, and the massive spear-sized arrow plowed through the swarm of sentinels, finishing off the rest of them. 

_**Level up! + 10 HP + 10 MP**_

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] EZ **

**432 LordVivian[** _ **EGirlForce**_ **] That's only cause I blew my inferno 10 immediately, those things are probably more dangerous than the golems**

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah those little fucks could've shredded us, the key is to kill them before they get close**

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] I mean that inferno kinda turned them into free exp**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Not even demonica casters can hit harder then me**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yet you could die in one hit from anything here**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] What do you not get about "glass cannon build"?**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] I just feel like you should've brought a tougher set, we can't afford to lose you here**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Then do your job. Your reason for being here is to heal and buff armor**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] I have more uses you know. I brought my devastation **

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] If you can actually land the shot **

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Fuck you**

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Fuck you**

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Fuck me**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] G A Y**

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] S T R A I G H T**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeojin you're literally the only straight person here get over it**

**411 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah straighty let me talk dirty to my girlfriend **

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Any couple dirty talking in a group chat is weird**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah, I agree with Yeojin. Do it after the raid, and preferably not in the guild chat**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Why don't you two just meet up and do the dirty things you're saying in person? **

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Ooooh that sounds nice**

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] But I'm saving myself for marriage **

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Disgusting **

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] jkjkjk**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Oh thank god I thought you were one of those people for a second**

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] I'm a little hurt, in all the time we've been dating, I've thrown you many hints, but you obviously haven't caught any**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] I've actually gotten all of them, I just thought the inherently dirty things you were saying we're jokes**

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] The classic case of "they both want to smash but neither knows it"**

**431 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] Okay quit your rambling lets get to the next part**

**411 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] K**

Yeojin, who had the highest strength stat, approached the gate. She tore the lock off and pried the heavy gate open. The courtyard was a decent arena. It had plenty of cover, which was completely mandatory for fighting Ancient Golems. They each found a suitable location, and Yeojin pressed the pressure plate in the center. The door opened, and the two aforementioned golems emerged, carrying massive halberds.

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] I'll take the one on the left, you two get the one on the right. Wait till I kill mine before you engage**

Vivi crept from behind her cover, just to the side of the left golem. They wouldn't aggro until you were within its direct line of sight or you deal damage to it, so the side she was on was completely safe. She held her scepter up.

**LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] casts Absolute Zero!**

White mist whipped around her, and the gem on her scepter lit up. A blue ring encircled the golem, and it was consumed by a massive ice crystal. The golem next to it didn't seem to care. They wouldn't aggro until they were attacked or saw an enemy. 

**LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] casts Rift Slash!**

She swung her scepter and a glowing purple line bisected the frozen golem. The ice cracked, and the golem crumbled into chunks of ice and metal. Yeojin took this as her cue to attack. She quickly drank a bone shatterer flask and loaded an arrow. Her engaging attack would have X4 damage, would break armor, and stun, giving Hyunjin an opportunity to lunge with her daggers.

She looked over to Hyunjin. Hyunjin had her spelbook out. 

**_AeongieGang[EGirlForce] casts Unholy Awakening!_**

Hyunjin's eyes began to glow a deep red, and a four dark blue angel wings sprouted from her back. She turned her daggers around, and nodded to Yeojin. She looked back to the golem. She let loose the arrow, and it planted itself firmly in the golem's head. It staggered backwards. Hyunjin flared her wings, and launched off the ground towards the golem at blinding speeds. She flew around its torso, her electricity infused daggers tearing through it's metal body like it was butter. The golem came to it's senses, and swung it's halberd, smashing Hyunjin into the ground. Heejin held her hand out, and set of white rings surrounded her arm.

_**Jeonfree[EGirlForce] casts Greater Empowerment!**_

A burst of white energy pulsed out from Hyunjin, and her HP bar refilled. Her daggers also began to glow white. The golem lifted its halberd for another swing, but Hyunjin was too fast. She spread her wings, and launched herself upwards, uppercutting the golem with her dagger. The golem's head detached entirely from the impact, and sailed across the arena. The body crumpled to the floor. 

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_** **] Okay before the Titan comes we need to decide whos gonna use their spirit**

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] I should use mine I have sunspot **

**410 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] So since when was sunspot better than hemotide typhon?**

**412 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] I feel like shade solace would be better**

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] While all of those are great choices, only sunspot and typhon are the only ones with high damage single hit finishers, and supernova does almost double the damage of drive blast**

**410 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] You know what that means**

Yeojin opened her spellbook and flipped to the last page. 

_**Loud[EGirlForce] awakens their spirit!**_

Orange rings of energy and arcane symbols revolved around her. A massive beam of energy dropped from the sky onto her, and when the dust cleared, in her place stood a human shaped being made of fire. As if on cue, the arena walls lowered. The ground they were standing on began to move, and the center of the arena opened. A massive black hand grasped the edge. They watched as the massive titan climbed out, it's liquid body forming into its proper shape.

The towering ferrofluid monster gazed down at them. It raised a fist, but Yeojin reacted faster than it could swing. She flew into the air, and cast a fireball straight into its exposed core. It did minimal damage, but it got it's attention. It directed its gaze towards her, the spotlight like beam coming from its core focusing on her. She began to charge her supernova and dashed for it's glowing core. She crashed straight into it, and released her supernova. Everything was silent for a second, and then the earth trembled, and the sky turned red, and a tremendously large pulse of flame engulfed the area.

Yeojin fell, her spirit having fizzled away. Hyunjin flew towards her, catching her and carrying her safely to the ground. The titan was still reeling from the blast, so Vivi took the opportunity to unleash her most powerful spell.

_**LordVivian[EGirlForce] casts Judgement!**_

A choir of angels sung as a massive beam of light dropped from the sky and onto the Titan. As the beam dissipated, it's core was now visibly damaged. It was cracked and leaking glowing blue fluid. Hyunjin could finish it off.

_**AeongieGang[EGirlForce] uses Archangel Soulreaper!**_

Hyunjin held her arm in the air, and a dark blue warscythe appeared in her grasp. She flared her wings, and flashed towards the Titan. She brought back the scythe, and swung it upwards, slashing straight through the core. The scythe dissolved and she flew back to where her allies stood. They watched the Titan stumble, and stagger, but it didn't fall. It looked back towards them, it's core flaring blue. It's core began to hum as it grew brighter.

**432 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] It's been an honor fighting alongside you girls. **

She did a salute emote and stood still. All of their final attacks were used, none had a time globe or anything to stop the Titan from using its death laser. Unless...

Heejin drew her Devastation. She aimed directly at the Titans core, and pulled the trigger. It's charging sequence felt like it took ages. After what seemed like minutes, there was a ground shaking bang, and a red ball of energy streaked through the air towards the Titan's core. It impacted perfectly. A massive explosion of pure energy swallowed the Titan. The girls were blown back by the sheer force of the blast. As the energy crackled away, they saw the aftermath. The core was gone, and the Titan's body had liquefied and left an enormous metallic black puddle where it once stood. 

_**Level up! + 30 HP + 30 MP**_

**413 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Oh my god I wish I could kiss you**

**414 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] I wish I could fuck you**

**413 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Ew get a room **

**414 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Actually that sounds like a good idea. I can book us a room at the Hampton**

**413 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] yeah my roommate wouldn't appreciative me having you over at this time a night, and you seem like a squealer so that would work out just fine**

**414 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] I am not a squealer I can assure you I am very quiet**

**413 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Well shit that's a little disappointing **

**414 Jeonfree[ _EGirlForce_ ] Can we talk about this privately??**

**413 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Yeah sure**

**1000 Poly[Moderator] Before you all go, I need to tell you that the Korean servers will be down tomorrow for maintenance**

**435 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] You're not the normal mod, why isn't Kyng here?**

**1000 Poly[Moderator] He left earlier for some meeting, so he said I should fill in. I normally run A-4**

**435 LordVivian[ _EGirlForce_ ] K ill keep that in mind**

**413 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] What's the maintenance for?**

**1000 Poly[Moderator] Some people were complaining about crashes and weird lag spikes, so the devs are gonna do some inspecting to make sure nobody has built any lag generators**

The devs had recently patched another lag generator exploit, how had people found another already? The trolls were quite persistent.

**413 AeongieGang[ _EGirlForce_ ] Well hopefully they find the problem. Night everyone, gonna go fuck the life outta Heejin**

**413 Loud[ _EGirlForce_ ] Ew. And goodnight.**

**435 LordVivian[ _EgirlForce_ ] Night**

**_AeongieGang logged off._**

**_Jeonfree logged off._ **

**_LordVivian logged off._ **

****

Yeojin opened her menu, and hit that dreaded "quit" button. She hated logging off, but what was the point in continuing if her friends weren't there?

_**Loud logged off.**_

Yeojin closed out the game and powered off her laptop. She was satisfied with how the raid went. Unfortunately they couldn't continue their progression tomorrow, since the servers would be down. She took her empty ramen bowl to the sink, and turned off the kitchen light. She crawled into bed, and closed her eyes.

Yeojin snapped awake in a cold sweat. She looked around. The first thing she noticed was that her bed was covered in broken glass. Her window was broken. There was also a hole seared in her blanket. She lifted her blanked. There was a hole in her shirt that looked like it had been burned in. There was a strange mark on her skin under the hole in her shirt.

She sat up, and a sharp pain shot through her side. She clutched where the mark was. Had someone removed her kidney in her sleep? No, impossible. She had her right kidney removed as a child after it had failed. What was this? What had happened to her?

_I am watching._

_I see you._

_I will not hesitate to kill you._

_Fear me._

_I am god._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's shotel not shovel. Also, this was the most fun I've ever had writing a chapter.


	12. Soulless | Poly

_**This text is translated from a journal found in a destroyed Soviet research laboratory. All blacked-out portions are represented by a [REDACTED] in it's place.**_

__

__

Test Subject: 1109(Poly)

Log #1

04/02/86

Dr. Kuznetsov

Retrieval Info

Subject was apprehended just outside of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant. Presented heavy resistance, destroying 3 2S19 armored tanks, before appearing to become exhausted. Was loaded into a transport and brought to [REDACTED] Research Facility. Appeared to enter a semi-dormant state upon being placed in a cell, walking back and forth with long pauses between paces. 

Subject Info

Subject has a completely black body, with a white mask-like structure in the place of the face. It's body is completely amorphous, except for its mask. It can morph into almost any shape, but seems not to fully understand it's own abilities. It's mask has a face like pattern on it, appearing as simple straight lines for eyes and a mouth. It prefers to remain in a humanoid form, being shaped similarly to a human draped in a cloak.

It is extremely hostile, but becomes exhausted quickly in combat. When presented with a single human, it will often torture and terrorize them, attempting to cause as much suffering as possible. It also attempts to keep those it is torturing alive and is extremely upset if it's victim expires. This is likely not a sympathetic reaction, but disappointment that it has no one to harm. It's preferred form of torture are creating deep lacerations in sensitive areas, excluding the face, and emotionally harming it's victim through a means of limited telepathy. It refers to itself as "Poly".

When placed in a combat situation, it's main form of attack is impaling aggressors with tentacles that sprout from it's back. Occasionally, when attacked by a larger or immediately more dangerous foe, it will bring black obelisks from the ground to pierce through said target. The spikes persist after being summoned, and are lethal to the touch. All biological matter coming in contact with the spikes dissolves instantly. The composition of the spikes is unknown. From what combat testing has been done, it is highly resistant to damage and requires sustained heavy fire for it to be properly incapacitated. It has extremely powerful regenerative capabilities, and can heal itself to full mass in under an hour.

In all honesty, I don't see the point in doing testing on this thing. It's evil and needs to be destroyed. What else do we need to know? 

Log #2

04/03/86

Dr. Kuznetsov

These people are fucking insane. They keep giving this thing more people to slaughter. It keeps making very specific requests for its victims, like "boy of approximately five years old" or "non-native elderly woman" or "non-native teenage female with blonde hair". They fulfill its demands for the sake of the research, but dear God, must this inhumane testing go on?

Log #3

04/04/86

Dr. Kuznetsov

The supervisors keep talking about a radiation bombing. Maybe blasting this son of a bitch with gamma will kill it. I hope it does. They've halted it's income of victims in preparation for it, too. I guess it was time to put it down. 

Log #4

04/05/86

Dr. Kuznetsov

The radiation didn't kill it. Something strange happened during its exposure to the radiation. It seems like it tried to splice, almost like a cell, but the radiation forced the new half to fuse to its original body. Now half of its mask is black, and it has this awful toothy smile plastered on its face. It also has real eyes instead of lines, but they're completely black and empty. You can tell it has no soul.

Since the incident it has been sitting completely still in it's cell. If it stays completely frozen like it is now, that's just as much of a success as killing it, but I have a feeling it's not going to stay like this forever. Higher ups say that they're going to leave it where it is, but if it starts moving again, it's required for it to be terminated.

Log #5

04/05/86

Dr. Kuznetsov

It escaped. The whole lab is in ruin. Whatever we did to it made it stronger. Bullets just seem to make it angrier now, and it has gone from being aggressive to predatory. It's like it's killing for sport. Like it enjoys it. 

It makes this horrible screeching noise when it attacks people, too. It shrieks and an orange glow appears in its eyes. I barely escaped, but I don't think my fellow employees were as lucky. I am hiding in my office, just under my desk, and I don't think it knows I'm here. 

Pray that it will spare your soul. Hide your families. We have created a monster. We have created the end. 

**_The rest of the page was covered in dried blood and thus completely illegible. A page was found torn from the journal, with a short message written in blood._ **

**_We are Poly. We are many. We are god._ **


	13. Arson | Jungeun

Jungeun slowly opened her dry, aching eyes. She was on the floor, and the air reeked of smoke. Not tobacco or weed, but of something actually burning. She shakily stood up, trying desperately not to fall. There was no smoke, but it sure did smell like it. She thoroughly scanned the room. There were scorch marks on her bed. There were no other signs of a fire, just how her bed had a very person-shaped burn mark on it. She leaned over her bed and touched the charred sheets. They disintegrated on contact. There was something very wrong here.

She had also failed to notice that she was completely nude, which was odd, since she clearly remembered being in clothes when she had gone to bed. She never slept naked, and the closest she ever came to that was sleeping in her underwear, and she only did that to see if Jinsol would check her out.

She also didn't remember having ashes smudged all over her. There was black gritty dust covering everything that would normally be clothed. It was uncomfortable to say the least, so she was going to shower before she did anything. She sleepily stumbled to the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She set the temperature to her normal, and turned to the mirror while she's waited for the water to warm up.

She didn't look tired, but she did look like she had rolled in a tub full of charcoal. Her hair was also a different color than before. It was a light gray color, definitely not her normal blonde. Probably because of the ashes. 

She turned around to get in the shower, noticing the steam drifting underneath the curtain. She slipped past the curtain, and stepped into the shower. She flinched at how cold it actually was. She reached down to the knob, and turned the heat higher. She had set it to the normal temperature she used, which was usually warm, but it was currently almost freezing. She felt the water warm, but not nearly enough. She turned the heat to max, which would normally be scalding, but for some unknown reason was not.

The bathroom was choked with steam, and it still wasn't comfortable. She wasn't sure why the water was so cold, and by turning it to max, it had only become around room temperature. Why was it so damn cold?

The light in the bathroom began to shift to orange, and Jungeun held her breath. Had there been a power outage? She was confused, and then she noticed the orange glow was brightening. The orange glow wasn't the lights, it was her. She turned off the shower, and jumped out, fearing there was something wrong with the water. She stood in front of the mirror. The ash had been cleaned from her body, but her hair was still gray. And completely dry. Her whole body was completely dry. 

There were small ember-like glows pulsing through her hair, and small ashes blowing from it. There was a reddish glow emanating from her eyes, and the air around her rippled with heat distortion. She stared at herself in the mirror, convinced she was having another psychotic episode. She reached to turn on the sink, but the glass handle of the sink melted before her hand even touched it. 

The air in the room was noticeably heavier, and the steam filling the room began to develop smoky undertones. There was smoke billowing from the ground beneath her. Jungeun looked down, and saw the rug beneath her feet had caught fire. She screamed, and ran to open the bathroom door. As her hand touched the handle, the metal began to warp and glow orange. She yanked her hand back as the door handle melted into liquid. Not knowing what else to do, She kicked the door open.

The door turned to ash the instant it touched her foot. She sprinted through the smoldering door frame, and made for the front door. Flames sprung up from beneath her as she ran towards the front door. She ran straight through the door, and made her way to the stairs. Jungeun rushed down the stairs, the metal hand rails turning into liquid as she passed. Jungeun reached the door, and pushed through the quickly melting steel. Jungeun stumbled out into the street, turning and looking at her apartment building. The entire upper half was in flames. There were screams echoing from the bystanders and some coming from inside, but it was almost completely inaudible over the roaring flames.

In her panic, she had completely forgotten about the fact that she was nude and standing in the middle of the street. Jungeun looked around, and she was surprised to see the people were running from the burning building. No... They weren't running from the fire. They were running from her.

Jungeun sat on the curb, staring at nothing. She was waiting for Jinsol to be done with class so she could explain what happened, but it would be a while before classes were over and she didn't have anywhere to go. Shortly after running from the scene, and hiding in a secluded alleyway, her clothes reappeared and the air around her cooled down. She had no idea why her clothes had come back, since that made no logical sense, but after what had just happened, she wasn't going to question it.

She began to remember what had happened to Jinsol, and realized what was happening. Jinsol had developed ice-based abilities, so it would only make sense for her to have a counterpart. Only, she wasn't sure about how much she liked these. Sure, ice could potentially be destructive, but it was nothing compared to what she had just done. She burned her apartment building to the ground, and she was probably responsible for more than a few fatalities. Some of them could have been children. 

The world was a dangerous place for her now. Would people recognize her? If anybody she knew told the police... There were no doubt government agents tracking her down, itching to toss her onto a dissection table. She rather liked her organs, and preferred them inside of her, so she needed to make sure she wasn't recognized. She had a newspaper half-covering her face, and she needed Jinsol to get home before everything went to shit.

There was the sound of a car approaching, and she spotted Jinsol driving towards her. She braked, tires squealing against the asphalt. Jinsol opened the passenger door.

"Hop in, we're going somewhere," Jinsol said. Jungeun nodded, tossing her newspaper and climbing in next to Jinsol. 

"Okay, first of all, the fuck happened to the apartment?" Jinsol asked.

"This is gonna sound really bad, but I burned it down," Jungeun replied.

"You WHAT?" Jinsol shouted.

"Not on purpose, really, it was my fault, but things just started burning, so I ran," Jungeun said.

"What do you mean?" Jinsol asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The fire was coming from me, everything I touched burned. I even melted through the stairwell door," Jungeun said.

"Shit... okay, so do you think you have fire powers?" Jinsol asked.

"No doubt, but the apartment was really not the place to discover them," Jungeun said.

"Oh god. Well, I think Yerim has turned into a walking biological weapon, so you're definitely not alone," Jinsol said.

"The fuck? What happened?" Jungeun asked, starting to get nervous.

"She deleted her bathroom, she spit acid in her sink and made the whole damn floor collapse," Jinsol replied.

"Holy shit! Is she okay?" Jungeun said.

"Yeah, actually. completely unscathed. Fell trough the floor, and not a scratch. I drove her out to the old mall we vandalized, and she's waiting there," Jinsol said.

"And I burned down the apartment in the time you were gone, damn I'm gonna miss that place," Jungeun said, leaning against the window.

"Now's not the time to get sentimental, we've got questions that need answering," Jinsol said. 

"Yeah, sorry, I'll just shut up..." Jungeun said. 

They arrived at the mall. Jungeun immediately recognized the inappropriate phrases spray painted across the front door. Jinsol pulled the car around the side and parked in the alley between the mall and another building. Jungeun shoved the door open, slamming it into the dumpster beside the car. She closed it, wincing when she saw the large dent in the door. She sprinted into the mall, and through the glass-less front door. The mall was just as empty as before, and no sight of Yerim.

"Yerim!" Jungeun shouted. A purple haired head poked out from behind the fountain. Yerim saw Jungeun, and jumped to her feet. They collided in a hug.

"Oh my god, Yerim are you okay?" Asked Jungeun.

"I'm fine, but are you?" Yerim said. Yerim scanned Jungeun.

"Checking me out, huh?" Jungeun said.

"No! Why... What happened to your hair?" Yerim asked.

"What do you mean..." Jungeun held a strand of hair in front of her face. It was an ashen gray. 

"Oh yeah, this.. I noticed after I got out of the shower," Jungeun said. She sat down on the rim of the fountain.

"So, what are we doing here?" Jungeun asked, turning to Jinsol.

"To find out what the hell happened to us. This place is pretty secluded, so visitors won't be a problem, so we'll be free to experiment with our abilities," Jinsol said.

"Oh, so another session of playing with extremely dangerous superpowers?" Said Jungeun.

"Don't call them superpowers, this is serious," Jinsol said. 

"Why don't we start trying things, like last time, maybe we can get a general idea of what's going on," Jinsol said. The ground shook, startling Jungeun enough to make her fall into the fountain. She dragged herself out of the black water, and onto the floor. She was drenched, but her body was beginning to steam, and the water was visibly evaporating. The sound of claws skittering on tile could be heard from one of the shops. Four doglike creatures burst from the door, sprinting full speed towards the girls. Jinsol stepped in front of them, preparing for a fight. Instead of lunging or attacking, the strange dog-monsters went around them and out the door. 

"Get! Scram!" A voice shouted. Another set of creatures burst from the shop's door. These also made for the front door. Jungeun looked back towards the shop door. Someone... no... _something_ stepped into the light. The creature was shaped like human, with pale skin and a disturbingly large head. It was barely taller then the dogs that had just run off. It had no eyes, and a row of crooked teeth protruding from it's lips. It was also, quite strangely, wearing a gray bowler cap.

"Why, hello, I have been expecting you," Said the thing. Jungeun stood there, confused.

"Yes, I am aware that my appearance may be unsettling, but I mean no harm," The creature spoke.

"What are you?" Jungeun asked.

"I... I do not know. I do not know how I came to be or what I am, but I do know why. I am here on Earth to educate and mentor the children of the Elementals," It said.

"The... what?," Jinsol said.

"I understand that, and that is why I am here. To assist you, and help you refine your abilities. My name is Jeravycladus, but Jerry is less of a mouthful, so feel free to call me that," It said. They all stood in silence for a few seconds.

"So, what are we doing?" Jungeun asked. Jerry grinned.

"Well, first, I need you three to know that you will need to stay somewhere, and this is the perfect place for that," Said Jerry.

"So, we're going to be living in an abandoned mall?" Jinsol asked.

"Yes, you are going to be living in an abandoned mall," Jerry replied. He tapped his chin.

"Now, I am not sure how your transformations affected your bodies, so you may not even need sleep anymore," Jerry said.

"Why would we need somewhere to stay if we don't need to sleep?" Asked Jinsol.

"I said _may not_ need to sleep. I'm not sure how drastic your changes were, the element crystals affect different species in different ways. You all need a place to go if you get yourself into trouble," Jerry said.

"What could go bad? We're probably stronger than any people that would come after us," Jinsol said.

"For the most part, you are stronger than humans. You are physically superior. But that doesn't mean large amounts of heavily armed humans couldn't hurt you," Jerry said.

"Humans? Does that mean we aren't-" Yerim started.

"Not a single strand of human genes is left in your bodies. You have become more than humans. You are children of the elementals," Said Jerry. Yerim put her head in her hands.

"What are elementals?" Jungeun asked. Jerry grinned with his horrifying smile.

"That is the question I've been waiting for," 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long, classes just started again and I'm getting settled in. I should be able to upload more frequently once I'm used to my new schedule. But don't fret fellow gays, I plan on making my chapters longer to make up for the less frequent posting. 
> 
> I love world building, so if an exposition chapter on the deeper lore of this universe is in demand, I can make it happen. 
> 
> Remember, any feedback or tips is greatly appreciated!


	14. Arrival | Chaewon

_Wake up._

Chaewon sat up, gasping for air. She sat up from the ground, and saw that the sun was already setting. How long had she been out? She pulled herself to her feet, and winced in pain as she felt a wave of agony pulse from her side. She looked down, and saw that her expensive white top was drenched in blood. She needed to find a doctor or something, losing that much blood couldn't be healthy. She looked around, remembering what had happened before the impact. The grass was scorched, but there were no signs of any sort of explosion or crater. It smelled like a tire fire, but whatever fire there had been had long passed. 

_Hyejoo._

Chaewon looked around, not seeing Hyejoo or any of the others. She limped towards the parking garage, clutching her side. The pain was too much for her, and she fell against the door frame. She just had to get back in, and find everyone else, and she would be fine. It was only pain, it couldn't actually hurt her, could it? Chaewon eased herself off of the wall, clutching her side as another stab of pain hit her. She was never one to do dangerous things, so her pain tolerance was quite low. She would go into shock if she kept going, but she wasn't a doctor, and she didn't know that. 

After what felt like hours of dragging herself up the ramps, she reached the area where they had found the bodies. She saw the others gathered on the blue tarp Haseul had laid on the floor. Hyejoo was tending to the others' wounds.

"H-help..." Chaewon squeaked. Her vocal cords would barely work.

"Hyejoo, look!" Jiwoo shouted.

Hyejoo looked over, and spotted Chaewon. Her eyes went wide when she saw her blood soaked shirt. Hyejoo awkwardly jumped up, and ran to Chaewon. She collapsed into Hyejoo's arms.

"Oh my god, Chaewon what happened?" Hyejoo asked, sounding a little panicked. 

"I-I don't know, I just woke up and I was covered in blood and..." She burst into tears. Hyejoo pulled her closer.

"It's okay, you're going to be alright," Hyejoo whispered.

"It h-hurts... it hurts so much..." Chaewon sobbed. 

"Where does it hurt?" Hyejoo asked. Chaewon pointed to her bloodied side.

"Can I look at it?" Hyejoo asked. Chaewon nodded. Hyejoo slowly lifted her shirt, which stuck to her blood drenched skin. The entire right side of her torso was red, and the blood was dripping down further. Hyejoo felt around for any open sores, but felt no cuts or gashes. It clearly hurt a lot, though, since Chaewon whimpered every time she touched her. If there was no wound, why did it hurt, and why was there so much blood? 

"There's no cut or anything that could have made you bleed like this, so we should probably wash all this off before it dries," Hyejoo suggested, still cradling Chaewon like a small child.

"I can't go out like this, somebody will call the police," Chaewon said.

"True... Well there's a stream not too far from here. Maybe you can wash up out there," Hyejoo said.

"You two can head out there, we'll make sure no police show up or anything," Said Haseul. Jiwoo nodded.

"U-us two? I mean, s-shouldn't she go clean up alone?" Hyejoo stuttered.

"She's limping and in a lot of pain, somebody has to make sure she doesn't drown," Haseul said.

"B-but she needs privacy, doesn't she?" Hyejoo said.

"Hyejoo, my clothes are dirty and need cleaning, too. I'm going to keep them on," Chaewon said.

"O-oh sorry. I'm sorry for not... you know... offering to help," Hyejoo said.

"It's f-fine, you did come to help me right when you saw me," Chaewon said. 

"Well, it was the least I could do," Hyejoo said. She lifted Chaewon, and started to walk towards the exit.

Chaewon was always underweight, so she wasn't surprised Hyejoo could lift her with such ease. She was a small girl, but still big enough to be difficult to handle. Carrying an entire person for ten minutes straight, regardless of how underweight they were, was quite a feat. Chaewon didn't mind being carried, anyway. Being in Hyejoo's arms made her feel... safe. She had known this girl for barely a day, and she already knew Hyejoo cared.

She wasn't completely sure of how long they had been walking, since the pain had dulled and she was starting to doze off. Hyejoo's thick sweatshirt made a nice pillow. Hyejoo smelled nice, too, which was a nice break from all of the horrid odors they had been inhaling all day. 

"Wake up, we're here," Hyejoo said. 

"Huh? Really?" Chaewon said, yawning. Hyejoo sat her down in the grass, and Chaewon was already needy for the comfort of Hyejoo's arms again. In front of them was a small stream, probably around two feet deep.

"Just wash off, you'll be a lot more comfortable. I promise," Hyejoo said. Chaewon took off her shoes and socks, setting them to the side.

"If it's too cold, just tell me. I can drive to town and buy some gallon jugs, if you'd be more comfortable with that..." Hyejoo said.

"You've already gone to the trouble to carry me out here, if the water's cold I'll just deal with it," Chaewon replied. Why did Hyejoo care so much, and more importantly, why was Chaewon blushing? Her own mind perplexed her. She turned around, and dipped her toes into the stream. It was cold, but she wouldn't tell Hyejoo that. She'd insist on getting her less cold water, and she didn't need to go through any more trouble.

Chaewon slid the rest of the way into the water, and submerged herself up to her chest. The water around her turned a deep crimson as the blood washed off of her. It already was feeling better. Being drenched with water was better than being drenched with blood. Chaewon pulled her top over her head, and wrung it out into the stream. It would be a bit harder to get the red out of this. 

She had almost forgotten Hyejoo was watching. Hyejoo's cheeks were beet red. 

"I-I thought you said you were keeping your clothes on..." Hyejoo said, staring awkwardly.

"If I don't clean out this shirt, it'll be ruined, and it was more expensive than the rest of my outfit," Chaewon said, shrugging. She ran water over it until the red stains were gone. She tossed the shirt onto the grass next to her shoes. She stood up, knees nearly giving out. She realized attempts to stand in a running stream were futile, so she dragged herself ashore with her arms. She sat on the rock nearest the water, and looked out into the woods. 

"So, what're we going to do when we get back?" Asked Chaewon, looking over her shoulder. Hyejoo was leaning awkwardly against a tree, still blushing. She was cute when she was embarrassed. 

"Hyejoo?" Chaewon asked. She was snapped out of whatever trance she had been in by hearing her name. 

"Y-yeah?" Hyejoo asked.

"What're we gonna do when we get back?" Asked Chaewon.

"Back to the parking garage or back to town?" Hyejoo replied.

"Well, both really," Chaewon said.

"Well, when we get back to the parking garage, I'm gonna need to find out my sleeping situation, because I can't go back to town yet," Hyejoo said.

"Why don't I stay there with you? A little company couldn't hurt," Chaewon said.

"I'd like that," Hyejoo replied, smiling.

"As for when we get back to town, maybe when things clear up, we could go grab a coffee or something?" Chaewon asked. 

"Honestly, I feel like things won't clear up this time. I really messed up by running, should've just stayed and faced the consequences..." Hyejoo said, staring at some distant object.

"If you had, we wouldn't be here together," Chaewon said. Hyejoo's eyes blinked over to Chaewon. 

"You... you're enjoying this?" Hyejoo asked.

"Yeah, I kinda like being around you," Chaewon said. It was a bold move on her part, but based on how Hyejoo blushed and put her hands on her cheeks, she wasn't disapproving at all.

"You okay over there, Hyejoo?" Chaewon asked. Hyejoo simply nodded. Chaewon stood up, almost falling back down. Her wet jeans restricted her movement a quite a bit. She walked over to the the flustered Hyejoo, who was likely only still standing because of the tree she was leaning on.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed," Chaewon said. Hyejoo giggled.

"I'm not embarrassed..." Hyejoo said. 

"Yeah, definitely not embarrassed," Chaewon said, grinning smugly. There was an awkward silence, the two simply staring at each other.

"I can put my shirt back on if that would make you more comfortable," Chaewon said. Hyejoo shook her head.

"You can keep it off, if you want. I don't mind," Hyejoo said.

"Doesn't seem like it, you're kinda staring," Said Chaewon. 

"O-oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't realize-" Hyejoo started.

"It's fine. You can keep looking if you want," Chaewon said. It wasn't until now that she noticed they had been slowly inching closer to each other. They were so close, she could feel Hyejoo's breath. 

Chaewon placed a hand on the tall girl's waist. Hyejoo leaned down, planting a soft kiss on Chaewon's lips. 

"W-we should go back soon, the others might be worried," Hyejoo said, stepping back.

"Yeah, we shouldn't be out too long," Chaewon replied, twirling a strand of hair with her fingers. Hyejoo collected Chaewon's shirt and shoes, handing them to her. 

"Put these on, don't want to step on something sharp," Hyejoo said.

"Hyejoo?" Chaewon said, grabbing her hand.

"Yeah?" Hyejoo replied.

"Can you carry me back?" Chaewon asked.

"But you seem to be walking fine," Said Hyejoo.

"I know," Chaewon said.

Hyejoo laid Chaewon on the blue tarp, which had been moved to the second floor. Everything looked a lot more homey, there were a couple lanterns sitting around and a small table with some chairs. Well, as homey as a parking garage can be.

"Thanks for moving the stuff down, carrying a person uphill is awful," Hyejoo said, looking over to Jiwoo.

"Don't mention it. And there was no way I was letting anyone sleep in the room that smells like rotting flesh," Jiwoo replied.

"Hey, where'd Haseul run off too?" Asked Chaewon.

"She's upstairs, keeping watch. I asked her why, and she said something about the police," Jiwoo said.

"Are you 100% sure she didn't murder anyone? She still could have killed those people," Hyejoo said.

"Don't think like that, she's done a lot to help us," Jiwoo said.

"Like what?" Hyejoo said. The stairwell door flew open, causing the girls to jump. Haseul peeked her head out.

"There's something out there," Haseul said. Chaewon immediately knew something was wrong as the pain in her side began to resurface.


	15. A Beginning | ???

I stood in front of the mirror, staring into my own black, empty eyes. It was now visible I was slowly losing my human appearance. My hair had gone completely white, my skin was almost transparent, and my teeth had been replaced by sharp fangs. My fingernails had grown into claws, and my eyes had become completely black. Forgetting what I used to be was what I wanted, and that was what I was getting. I straightened my tie, and walked out of the bathroom.

"If you want me alive, you're gonna have to remember to give me food," Said the young woman chained to the wall.

"Sorry about that, I'm just so excited," I said. I walked to the kitchen.

"What did emperor say again?" Said the girl.

"I'm supposed to destroy the element crystals, and if there are any children of the elementals, I have to kill them," I replied, filling a bowl of cereal.

"Chances are pretty low, do you really have to go?" She asked.

"I don't need to, but I want to. I kind of hope that here are some elementals, I've never seen one before," I said. I handed her the bowl of cereal.

"No spoon?" She said. 

"No time," I replied.

"Bullshit, it'll take you like 10 seconds to get me a spoon," She said.

"I'm sorry, it's just too far," I said, buttoning up my blazer.

"Fuck you, it takes you less then a second to travel across the planet," She said.

"Love you too, honey," I replied, walking our the door. I closed the door, and took a deep (and pointless) breath. 

_I hope they scream._


	16. Abyssal | Hyunjin

"There have been at least ten confirmed impacts, four of which have resulted in fatalities. There are eighty six confirmed dead, and twenty two missing. If you have any information, please cont-" The reporter was cut off by Hyunjin's tv cutting to static. 

"Dammit! Fuck!" Hyunjin shouted, kneeling next to her modem, trying to find what was wrong. She rebooted her wifi, and after that failed to get her tv to turn back on, she gave up. She pulled out her phone, checking her feed. 4G was still working, fortunately. Her feed was flooded with pictures of strange creatures. These didn't look like anything from any of her games, so she opened one of the posts. The photo was of a human shaped creature, made entirely of fire. It had six enormous wings sprouting from it's back, and in the background, there was a burning apartment building.

The post read: _Monster outside apartment. It's the end of the goddamn world. If anyone else has any pics of other monster sightings, link pls_

This couldn't be real. Monsters didn't exist, they were only in video games and movies. This could have been a mass troll, but the pictures were so real, and there were many from different angles. Hyunjin ran to her window, yanking back the blinds. The streets were empty, with a few cars sitting around. They looked like they had been abandoned, as they were left with he doors open, and parked on curbs and in the middle of the road.

She took out her phone again, scrolling through her notifications. There had been a state-of-emergency evacuation thirty minutes ago. She had slept through the alarm. She had to get the hell out of there, but she needed to know if Heejin was safe. They had started dating a few days before, and needed the assurance that her girlfriend was safe. She messaged her, and waited. The message failed to send. Her 4G had just gone out. _Shit._

Hyunjin hastily put on her shoes, She practically kicked her door down, and made a beeline for Heejin's place. It was barren outside. There wasn't a person in sight. The only movement she could make out was the disturbing amount of birds in the sky. Not just birds... vultures. She didn't have time to think about why, she just needed to make sure Heejin had evacuated safely. 

Heejin's house was within view, and it looked undamaged, until she got closer. The window on the front door was shattered. This could be bad. She sprinted onto her front porch so fast she almost face-planted. She flung the doormat aside, and grabbed the spare key. As she went to unlock the front door, she saw that the door had been open the whole time. Her heart sank. Things were looking bleak.

Hyunjin slowly opened the door, expecting the worst, but was surprised to see the inside of the house was, for the most part, undamaged. No broken vases, nothing stolen. She opened the door the rest of the way, and stopped against something on the floor. Hyunjin looked down, and screamed. Heejin was lying on the floor in a large puddle of blood. Hyunjin fell to her knees, and cradled Heejin in her arms. She was drenched in blood, but Hyunjin could definitely feel her breathing. She sighed in relief, but by the looks of it, Heejin had lost a copious amount of blood. Hyunjin felt her shirt, looking for a wound, but she felt nothing. No deep lacerations or stab wounds, nothing that could cause this. Was it even her blood? She looked more peacefully asleep than anything. Almost like she had just fallen asleep in a random pool of blood. But that didn't make sense, it had to come from somewhere. She finally gave up on trying to piece together what happened, and lifted Heejin, carrying her to the bathroom.

Hyunjin placed her in the bathtub. She filled a plastic bathroom cup with water, and splashed it on her face. Heejin jolted awake.

"Hyunjin?" Heejin said, brushing the water off of her face.

"You're okay, Heejin, just don't freak out," Hyunjin said. Heejin looked down, and saw her blood soaked clothes.

"Whoa! What the fuck?" Heejin shouted. She looked at Hyunjin.

"Did you take out my kidney?" Heejin asked with a horrified look on her face.

"No, I have no clue what the blood is from. Not even sure if it's yours," Hyunjin replied. Heejin's expression changed.

"We have to get out of here," Said Heejin, her voice filled with urgency.

"I saw, state of emergency. What did they say it was about?" Hyunjin asked.

"Some nuclear waste thing, why are you still here?" Heejin said.

"Slept through the alert," Hyunjin said. There was a short silence. 

"I don't think it was nuclear waste that made the government call for an evacuation," Hyunjin said. Heejin looked confused.

"Are you saying they're lying to us?" Heejin said.

"I mean, nuclear waste with no context to why or how it got here? Sounds like they threw that together as a cover story last second," Hyunjin said.

"Well, what is is then?" Heejin said.

"Before the internet went out, I saw a bunch of posts on reddit about monsters. I'm not saying I know for sure, but it's a theory," Hyunjin said.

"That's a little much, Hyunjin," Said Heejin.

"Yeah, I know, I know, but something is very wrong," Hyunjin said.

"Yeah, did you see all the vultures out there?" Heejin asked.

"Let's not worry about that now, wash yourself off really quick, and we can get out of here. We can talk about conspiracy theories once we're on the road," Hyunjin said.

"Sounds good, I'll wash off and get a change of clothes," Heejin said. Hyunjin left the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She went into Heejin's room, grabbing her suitcase and packing some clothes. She hadn't had time to pack her own things, but Heejin's clothes were close enough to hers size wise, so they'd have to share until whatever problem there was was solved and they could come back home.

Hyunjin had stuffed most of Heejin's closet into the suitcase, and it was probably around sixty pounds. It wouldn't be a problem, since they would be taking Heejin's car. Hyunjin heaved the heavy bag off of the bed, and lugged it into the living room. She sat down on the couch, and sighed. Things were going better than expected, but she couldn't get her hopes up. Something could go wrong. Something would go wrong.

Heejin emerged from her room, wearing a white T shirt and jean shorts. She looked at the swollen suitcase with awe.

"You actually fit half my closet in there," Heejin said.

"I didn't bring any clothes, hope you don't mind sharing," Said Hyunjin.

"Maybe you don't need to wear any clothes," Said Heejin, kissing her on the cheek.

"Now's not the time for this, we need to get on the road," Hyunjin said, poking Heejin's nose. Hyunjin stood up and lifted the heavy suitcase. What a time for not having a wheeled suitcase.

Hyunjin finally figured an angle to fit the comically large bag inside the trunk of Heejin's expensive Mercedes, and promptly stuffed it in.

"Let's take shifts driving, the evacuation is for the entire province, and that's a pretty long drive," Hyunjin said.

"Sure, I'll drive first," Said Heejin, opening the drivers side door. Hyunjin opened her door, and sat down. Heejin went to start the car, but the engine sputtered disapprovingly. Heejin gave a couple more attempts, and saw that it was futile. She slammed her hands on the dash.

"Fuck!" Heejin shouted. She opened her door, and walked around to the front of the car. She popped the hood, and gasped, covering her mouth.

"What? What is it?" Hyunjin asked. Heejin was speechless. She only pointed to whatever was under the hood. Hyunjin opened her door, and stepped around to get a look at whatever had scared Heejin so much. What Hyunjin saw under that hood only confirmed her fears from earlier. There was a dark gray creature, that bore a horrifying resemblance to a human fetus. It's disturbingly large head was bisected by a gaping maw. It's mouth was stained with black liquid, which Hyunjin assumed was the fuel that was in Heejin's car, and it had a single eye on it's head, which looked more like a laser pointer LED than an eye. It looked like it was... sleeping? Hyunjin went to close the hood, but the noise of the hood closing stirred it from it's slumber. The red glowing dot lit up brighter, and the small creature jumped to it's tiny feet. 

The thing opened it's mouth, and shrieked. It lunged at Hyunjin, but Heejin was faster, and grabbed a nearby wrench, hitting the monster out of the air. It writhed on the floor, letting out scream after scream. Black liquid was oozing from the large hole that Heejin had just put in it's skull. Heejin lifted the wrench high over her head, and brought it down on the creature again. It's head exploded, splattering black slime across the floor. Heejin dropped the wrench.

"W-what the hell was that?" Heejin said.

"I don't really want to know," Hyunjin replied, wiping a speck of ooze off her cheek. 

"That was our only way out of here, Hyunjin," Said Heejin. 

"We can walk," Hyunjin suggested.

"That would take days, babe, and we don't have days by the looks of it," Heejin said.

"Do we really have a choice?" Hyunjin said.

"We could stay here. We could hide, and whatever else might be out there won't find us," Heejin said.

"That's suicide. Whatever else might be out there can and will find us," Hyunjin replied.

"Fine, we can walk. But if we die, it's on you," Heejin said. She picked her wrench up off the floor, and looked at the black slime caked on the end. 

"I really hope nothing out there will be worse than that... thing," Heejin said, looking down at the dead monster.

"Let's hope," Hyunjin replied.


	17. Don't Look Back | Yeojin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't notice, I changed the summary. I really prefer the new one and I feel like it makes the story a lot more eye-catching.
> 
> I'd like to thank everyone for all the support. I never expected to get 800 hits, and I definitely didn't expect 60 people to leave kudos. This story is starting to grow on me, and I really hope you all feel the same way. I've had a great time writing this. Thank you all <3
> 
> Random Loona Question #1 (yes im doing this now)  
> Thoughts on the ridiculous amount of time it's been since B#RN was announced.  
> E N D T H I S D R O U G H T B B C

Yeojin looked at her watch. 11:33. How long was she going to sit in this waiting room before she got some medical attention? She was in the emergency room for god's sake. There had been a massive influx of people in the ER, but she didn't have her phone so she couldn't check the news to find out why. Yeojin, admittedly, wasn't terribly injured, but her upper chest was bloodied and had a deep cut in it. Yeojin had woken up with the cut, and the sheer amount of blood on her is what merited a visit to the ER. This seemed like a lot to her at first, but that was before she saw the other people being rushed in on stretchers. She had seen people missing limbs. People with such mangled faces that they were beyond recognition. People with their torsos ripped open, accompanied by doctors attempting to hold their organs in. Whatever had happened, Yeojin was happy she wasn't there to see it.

The dull throbbing coming from her wound had started to die down, and the bleeding had stopped. She felt a tingling sensation. Yeojin looked down at her chest, and saw the wound begin to close. Unsure of what to do, she simply stared at the gash as it sealed itself shut. The wound was gone, but she was still a bloody mess. She stood up, and headed to the restrooms. She walked in, and tried to ignore the sound of crying coming from one of the stalls. She leaned over the sink, and splashed some water on her shirt. She tried her best to scrub the blood off of her shirt and neck, and dried off with some paper towels. Her shirt was still visibly stained, but it wasn't sticky and didn't smell like iron anymore. 

Yeojin looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't look different... but she definitely felt different. She felt like her body wasn't her own. Like a shoe that almost fits, but is just a little too small. Like her very existence had more weight. Yeojin shook her head, banishing the strange thoughts that had flooded her mind. She looked back at herself in the mirror, and she spotted something. Behind her, in the corner of the bathroom was a person draped in a black cloak. They wore a mask, half white, half dark gray. It's eyes were black behind the mask, but the left eye had a pinpoint orange glow in the center. She turned around to face them, but to her surprise, there was no one behind her. She scanned the bathroom, because she had very clearly seen the cloaked figure in the back of the room.

She cautiously moved to where she saw the thing. Nothing. No sign of anything being there. Either she was seeing things, or something was up. She turned to the door to leave, but she stopped. The sounds of agonized patients and urgently shouting doctors was gone. The waiting room was completely silent. Now she knew something was wrong. She crept towards the door, listening for any noises, any signs that there was still life on the other side. She reached towards the door, and stopped. There was a sound. A deep rumble resonated from behind the bathroom door. No, not a rumble... a growl. Not that of a dog, or anything of the sorts, almost like that of a lion, but deeper. More imposing than a lion. Whatever was on the other side, it was massive enough for it's growl to vibrate the hinges on the door. Yeojin retracted her hand, and began to walk backwards. There was a window in this bathroom, but it was pretty high up. She would have to climb up into the window, but that was probably better than meeting whatever was waiting for her outside.

Her anxiety got the best of her, and she turned and ran towards the window. She leaped as high as her small stature would allow, and barely caught the windowsill. What she saw on the outside was heart wrenching. The street was littered with mangled bodies. Whatever was in the waiting room... was capable of doing that to people? She made the right choice of going this way. She used all of her strength to lift herself into the window, and realized it was closed. She used one of her hands to push the window, but it wouldn't budge. She couldn't open it with one hand, and she couldn't use both, since it was impossible to use both hands to open the window. She had no choice other than break the window. 

Yeojin lifted her fist, and slammed it against the glass. It cracked from the blow, but didn't break. It took a couple more hits to shatter the glass. Now that it was open, she pushed herself through the broken window. She cried out in pain as the shards left in the window cut into her belly. She lost her grip, and fell through. Thankfully, she landed in some shrubbery outside the window rather than on the hard concrete. The fall definitely would've bruised if this random piece of vegetation hadn't been there. She crawled out of the bush, and brushed the leaves off of her shirt. 

Yeojin looked around, and saw that the once bustling streets of Seoul were desolate. There were bodies, but not nearly enough to be the entire city. She sighed in relief as she realized the rest of the city must have evacuated. She needed to find some hint as to where everyone had evacuated to, and the scale of the evacuation. She didn't even know why the city had evacuated. She started to jog towards her apartment, but doubled over. Yeojin had forgotten completely about the glass embedded in her stomach. She reached down, and dislodged one of the larger shards. She stood in place for a second, staring at the deep cut in her gut. She could feel blood trickling down her stomach, but, like earlier, her cut began to tingle. The laceration sealed before her eyes. A fairly debilitating wound had healed in under a minute. Seeing as she now had some sort of superhuman regeneration, she ripped out the last couple pieces of glass. They healed faster than the previous cut, but didn't hurt any less.

She regained her composure, and began jogging towards her apartment. She needed to check the details of the state-of-emergency, and she had left her phone at home. As her pace picked up, she heard a sound. It was the growl from before, so deep the earth trembled beneath her, only this time it wasn't a growl, but a demonic snarl. Her survival instincts kicked in, and Yeojin broke into a full sprint. She heard thunderous footsteps behind her, which only further motivated her dash. She looked over her shoulder, wanting to get a good look at her pursuer. She suppressed a scream. The creature chasing her was horrifyingly large, easily the size of an elephant. It's body was some disturbing amalgamation of canine and reptile, being shaped like a massive wolf, but covered in dull black scales. It's head was long, and tapered into a beak-like point, and had two pointy ears on top of it's head. It's jaws were lined with rows and rows of small serrated teeth. It's eyes were thin and completely white. It didn't appear to be chasing her, but following her at a slow pace, simply because it's strides were so long. 

The horrible, unholy noise it was creating, paired with it's jarring appearance, shook Yeojin enough to cause her to stumble. She tripped, and fell against the side of a car. Yeojin regained her senses, and looked up to see the monster ambling closer. It was close enough for her to see it in detail. She could see how it's teeth were stained with blood, and there were some other things stuck in it's teeth that she didn't want to think too hard about. She would have cried or called for help, but both of those things were pointless. No person could harm this thing, if there was anyone left anyway. And she was going to die, anyway. Time almost slowed down as her fate crept closer. She was raised catholic, and had been faithful her entire life, but she was now questioning the things she had been taught since she was a child. What god would wish something like this upon innocent people? What great sin had these people committed to deserve this? 

Her eyes began to well with tears. She was going to die. This was the end. The creature was so close. She could feel the evil radiating from it, smell it's rancid breath. What a horrible way to die. The monster opened it's mouth, shifting to it's back legs to pounce. Yeojin closed her eyes.

_Thud._

She opened her eyes, and the creature was no longer in front of her, but pinned to the ground by a hulking, red skinned beast. She looked closer, and saw it in fact had no skin. It's body was made of muscle and tendons. The creature was considerably larger, easily 10 meters in height. It was relatively humanoid, but with a more hunched posture and an extra set of arms. It had no visible head, but instead had a mouth running the length of it's torso. The enormous beast lifted the black creature, and lobbed it at a nearby building. Yeojin realized this wasn't the time to be spectating, and turned and ran. She couldn't bother with checking the evacuation details, if she wanted to live. She knew a secluded place she could hide at that was at the edge of town, and as long as there were no monsters there, she would be fine. 

Yeojin ducked into an alley to catch her breath. She had been sprinting for at least ten minutes. She sat down next to a dumpster, and tried some deep breathing. She choked on the stench of trash, but it was nothing compared to that monster's breath. She started to get up, because staying any longer would be suicide, but she heard something. Footsteps. Not heavy, erratic footsteps like the monster she had seen before. The sound of a person running. She looked for the person in question, and saw a person coming towards the alley she was in.

The woman stopped in front of Yeojin. She looked a little banged up.

"Did you see that thing back there?" She said, panting.

"Which one?" Yeojin replied.

"So that's a yes. Hi, I'm Sooyoung," Sooyoung said. She was actually very beautiful, other than how her hair was a complete mess, and the various cuts and bruises covering her body. Yeojin swore she saw one that looked like a bite mark.

"I'm Yeojin, and we need to get the hell out of here," Yeojin replied.

"And go where?" Sooyoung asked.

"There's this old parking garage on the edge of town, I was planning on waiting things out there," Yeojin said,

"Sounds good," Sooyoung replied, smiling.


	18. Update

I'd like to apologize for my sporadic uploads, my schedule just keeps getting fucked up. Almost every time I want to write, I get inconvenienced by something and have to put it off. If anybody is dissatisfied by my infrequent posts, I'm very sorry.

Also, I've been thinking about writing a smut, like a work that is exclusively smut. I'm not new to the fine art that is word porn, but I've never uploaded any. I feel like I'm pretty good at it, but I was really unsure if people wanted it, so I just never uploaded any. If anyone has any suggetions for ships/pairings, I'd love to hear them.


	19. Alpha Theory | ???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Random Loona Question #2  
> What was the song that made you an orbit, and why?

This article was retrieved from Chernobyl on January 7th, 2002, found under a pile of debris. Paper was found to be laced with lethal neurotoxin. 

**Alpha Theory**

_(Name overlapped by unidentifiable stain, thus rendered illegible)_

 **January 7th,** _(Year exhibits likely case of nonexistence*, and is therefore impossible to read)_

**The Origin**

This information was attained via cooperative Alphas that helped our cause.

The Alphas originated from a universe much older than our own. Their universe was created by an omnipotent being so far ascended, it could end and create universes with just a fleeting desire, or at least that is how the Alphas described it. Their universe was an infinitely expansive plain, with no color or biological life. It was populated with bizarre creatures that were not alive in the same way we humans are. Their world perished long ago, as all universes must come to an end eventually, but instead of dying with their world, they came to ours (see _Alpha Theory_ ).

**Alpha Theory**

Ring Analogy

Imagine all realities and universes as rings, and each ring gives a view of a different world. Each ring is moving around in an infinite abyss, and depending on where they are in that abyss, that is what world they show. Rings showing similar worlds are closer to each other, rings showing very different worlds are farther apart. When two rings are showing especially similar events, they may overlap, but only very slightly, allowing objects and other things to pass between them in a very limited area. The Alpha's universe crossed with ours, because the final moments of their dying existence were similar to an event happening somewhere in our young, newly birthed universe, so their kind, having nowhere else to go, were deposited in our world as their ring shrunk and drew back from ours. Some of the older Alphas we worked with attempted to explain the experience, but it was no more than nonsense. Being traded from one existence to another is probably an overwhelming experience, even for a race as advanced as theirs.

**A New Reality**

During an interview, one of the only surviving elders spoke of how overwhelming the concept of color was upon entering our universe. Another said our laws of physics were confusing and easily broken. After asking what it meant by "easily broken" it stood from it's chair and proceeded to walk through a wall. Their kind seems to become more powerful the more they understand, which makes them not only extremely dangerous, but also potentially useful. 

*Nonexistence is a partial failure to exist, and has been frequently found in objects from different versions of the current reality. It is unknown how these objects come to our existence, and their appearance is seemingly random. Nonexistence, in theory, occurs when an object from a different reality exhibits properties that do not exist in our universe, and therefore fail to exist, either in part or as a whole. Things such as words, concepts, and forms of matter are most commonly affected by nonexistence. Nonexistent objects often ignore the laws of physics, sometimes disobeying gravity, sometimes clipping through objects, sometimes not even taking a physical form.

_The paper from this point on cannot be considered accurate, as it appears to not fully exist. Each subject requested to read the following text reports inconsistent results, as if the words change every time it is read. In recent years, the words have become more and more consistent, switching between a few variations every read._

_Proceed at your own risk._

**_Their kings will fall at the hands of the gods. The seas will be tainted with the blood of their kin. Humanity will be consumed. Praise be to the Alphas, our true gods._ **


	20. Reality is Relative | Viian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> K what  
> This has like 1000 hits  
> Why are there so many people reading this  
> I never expected people to actually read this  
> Thanks for reading this I guess  
> Oh yeah heres a vivi chapter
> 
> also to whoever wrote that underage yerim and yeojin smut i finna kill you

"Arms up," Said the soldier behind the terminal. The woman in front of Vivi stepped through the gate, and the lights bordering it flashed green.

"Good to go," The soldier said. The woman picked up her bag and moved into the back of the tent. Vivi wondered what the scanner things were for. Maybe checking for radiation? That was what they evacuated for. She was next in line, so she stepped up to the gate.

"Please place any personal belongings in the basket," Said the soldier, holding out plastic airport security bin. Vivi hadn't brought anything with her, she had left in a panic after hearing the news. Her side was aching, probably from all the running. 

"Step through the gate," The soldier said. Vivi complied, and stepped through the gate. She assumed it would flash green like the last person (She didn't _feel_ irradiated), but to her surprise, it didn't. It flashed red, and alarms blared throughout the installation. She looked over at the soldier, who had drawn his assault rifle. It was aimed directly at her.

"Don't move," The soldier said. Vivi stood in place. She probably couldn't, anyway. She was paralyzed with fear. What had she done? Why was there a gun being pointed at her?

"Just put your hands up, and come with me," The soldier said, freeing a hand and reaching for his radio. A bizarre sensation ran up her spine, and flooded her mind with a feeling she wasn't familiar with. She felt... powerful. 

"No," Vivi said. Why did she say that? She was going to be shot. For a split second, everything was blurry. Disconnected from itself, in a sense. Everything flickered back to normal, and something felt different.

"Okay," The soldier said. He let go of his radio, and put his gun away. He turned around, pressed a button on the keypad next to the gate, and the blaring alarms silenced. Nobody seemed to notice what had just happened.

"Head on through," He said. Vivi stepped the rest of the way through the gate, and into the crowd of confused civilians. 

_What the hell had just happened?_

Vivi felt a light burning sensation begin on her arm. She lifted her arm, and saw a stripe of skin on her arm had turned slightly red. She only had random inflammations like this during allergy seasons, and never on her arms. And the mark was a perfect rectangle, almost like it had been printed on. She stared at it for a few more seconds, and after showing no signs of going away, she continued to push forward through the crowd. She was asked to leave her car at the front, so it could be moved through a vehicle screening gate, and she could pick it up on the other side.

The crowd came to a halt. Vivi craned her neck, trying to see what thee hold up was. She saw soldiers pouring outside, shouting but impossible to understand over the terrified people yelling around her. She looked over to the side, and through the people standing around her, could see one of the computer monitors. It had some sort of radar on it. She saw something on the radar. Something was moving towards the dot in the center, and very quickly. Vivi was inside, so she couldn't see what it was, but she assumed it was some sort of plane. She could actually hear one, too.

Well, whatever jet it was, it sure was loud. She had heard low-flying fighter jets before, and this sounded a lot like one. The next thing she heard made her heart sink. Gunshots. Lots of them. Probably even some sort of artillery. She heard the roar of jet engines approaching yet again, and more gunshots. She could feel the ground rumble beneath her as something exploded outside. And the gunfire stopped. There was another rumble, and the building trembled. The roof was shaking, ceiling tiles were falling, and windows were breaking. The building was going to collapse.

_I don't want to die._

The world blurred once again. The sounds of chaos dulled. Reality came back to it's senses, and the chaos continued. The walls started to crumble, and the ceiling came down on top of her. But it didn't. Not a single hunk of concrete, not a single piece of rebar even touched her. She was standing in the ruins of the building, and for at least a meter around her, there was not a single piece of debris. She looked around her. Most, if not all, of the people in that building had just died. Innocent people, innocent children, had perished. Whoever had done this was truly a monster. Vivi unsteadily climbed through the rubble, and spotted the airstrip where the soldiers had run off too. She stumbled the rest of the way through the rubble of the collapsed building. She stepped onto the once smooth tarmac, the length of which had scorched and cracked in the blast. Ashes blew along the runway, and the air reeked. The stench of what was probably burning flesh stung her nose.

At the end of the runway was a pillar of smoke. Had a plane crashed? That was a very possible explanation for what had just happened. Or maybe it wasn't. Something was moving in the smoke. The smoke was blown away as two enormous wings flared from inside the cloud.

What stood at the end of the runway was nothing short of an abomination. It's body looked to be made of festering, rancid flesh. It was a sickening shade of purplish-red, resembling deep bruising. It stood with the stature of a bird, but with wings far too large for it's body, and a long, wide neck ending in a lamprey-like mouth. Smoke was billowing from pipe shaped protrusions jutting from it's back. It's wings had fleshy cylinders at the midpoint, almost like a biological jet engine, but instead of an intake propeller, there were long vents that looked like gills.

What the hell was Vivi looking at? This wasn't real. Monsters didn't exist. This didn't exist. She stood frozen as the beast lumbered towards her. Vivi couldn't move, stuck at the midpoint between fight and flight. She couldn't fight this thing, but her brain was obviously considering it, because if it wasn't, she would've bolted already. It's disgusting, gaping mouth was a few feet away from her face. Flames began to creep up it's throat. Her face began to burn as hot air bellowed from it's maw.

"Stop," Vivi said. Everything blurred. All sensations became numbness. And the world snapped back to normal. The monster closed it's mouth. It turned around, and began to run down the runway. It's wings folded into a U shape. Small flames began to jet from the engines on it's wings, and it took off into the sky. Vivi balled up on the ground, and started to cry.

* * *

Vivi looked at her arm. There were three stripes on her arm. The first one was a mere red mark, the second looked a little like a scrape, and the third had scabbed over. How did she not notice these earlier? Maybe because they were starting to heal already. Maybe they were from the collapse, she had gotten cut and hadn't noticed it. Still, she didn't know why they were so perfectly rectangular. They were smaller, sure, but the marks were still perfectly shaped. 

She had been walking for nearly an hour. She wasn't sure _where_ she was going, she just needed to get back to civilization. It took her almost an hour to get to the military installation, so walking anywhere from there would take even longer. It was probably around midnight, but her phone had died long ago, so she wasn't one hundred percent sure. It was dark, and the only reason she was still on the road was because everything else was dense forest. She really wished it wasn't so dark.

Reality disconnected from itself. Existence dulled for a few seconds, and then everything was normal again. Vivi winced in pain as a sharp pain shot up her arm. She looked down. A bloody, rectangular wound had opened on her arm. She held her arm, wondering why this was happening.

She stopped walking. There was the sound of leaves rustling, but there was no wind. She looked at the trees, and saw the leaves begin to move. The leaves began to quickly shed themselves from the tress. The leaves started to change shape as they fluttered through the air. They changed into a swarm of glowing blue butterflies. They cast a bright blue glow on the road as the cloud of insects fluttered around above her. It was such a beautiful sight, Vivi completely forgot about the pain in her arm. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was pretty short, I know, but I was pressed for time. Despite how short this was, I feel like I did a good job.


	21. Ex Supra | ???

_November 12, 1877_

_My husband left for town today, I plead he'll be home soon. I've grown tired of him, but alas, he's all I've got up here..._

_The cows aren't much to talk, neither are the chickens, so all I've got to talk with is this diary. Being alone is going to drive me insane. These days I fear I'm going mad. I keep seeing the most peculiar things._ _The pigs and cows need their feed, but I'm feeling lethargic today. They can go one day without eating, I just need to rest. I'd start the fireplace for myself, but I can't find the strength to carry the firewood, so I'll just put up with the cold. Maybe if Henry was_ _here he'd light me a fire. That's all men are useful for anyway, doing the hard work. Maybe if I learned to work hard we wouldn't need men anymore. Sometimes I wish I could do the hard work so I could keep myself alive for more than a week, but I've let_ _myself_ _get_ _weak. I feel that a good rest could get me feeling lively again._

_I've just slept, and I'm feeling no better. Maybe I've fallen ill? Those damned pigs, I swear, I knew they would strike me down with the swine flu some day. I'll just make supper and rest until Henry gets back. Maybe he knows a doctor._

_I'm sitting on my front porch right now, writing by my oil lamp. The night sky is so pretty out here. I don't know the names of any of the stars, but I love to look at them anyway. I wish pop would've let me attend university, I could've learned about the stars_ _and the planets, but mom and pop said I needed to learn how to be a lady and work in the kitchen. If I had my way, the husbands would cook the meals and clean the house, but that's blasphemy in the eyes of the people of today. Ah, I've gone off topic._ _Anyways, I'm in my chair eating a cut of ham. I can see town from here, off on the horizon. It looks like such a nice place, but it's so far, I could never walk there myself. Even with fair skies, my fragile body couldn't survive a trek of such magnitude. On that_ _note, the weather has been terrible recently. I haven't seen the sun in days._

_I've just noticed all of the birds over town. There's usually birds, but never so many. I'm quite tired now, I'm going to sleep._

_November 13, 1877_

_Henry hasn't returned. I don't know why, he's never been gone for more than a day. I'm starting to worry._

_The cows and pigs are gone. Henry is going to be in a rage when he sees. How the hell did they get out? The fences are still up and the gates are closed. Maybe they were stolen._

_I've looked for the pigs and cows for at least twenty minutes, and I've found nothing. But I've just heard the most terrible of sounds. A sound that should be heard exclusively in the deepest pits of hell. It shook the earth beneath me. Like a thousand cannons firing in unison. I fear to look for what made the noise, because whatever made the sound couldn't be good._

_There was no powder explosion or cannonfire, but there is a creature. I see it on the horizon, above the town. It's a mountainous, gargantuan thing, bigger than the town itself. It's body is similar to that of a slug. It has a round mouth that has more mouths_

_inside of it. There is a mass of tails on the top of it's body. It's_ _unmoving above the town, but the town seems to be moving upwards into it's mouth. I think it's consuming it. It's oddly beautiful, such a creature deconstructing mankind's creation. Feeding, for_

_i_ _t must feed. I see it all now. I gaze upon the highest form of creation. And it gazes back, with it's metaphorical eyes. Seeing the deepest reaches of your soul, seeing that your soul is afraid. Afraid of what it is not. The creature I see is god. And god has_

_forsaken us. It knows what we are. It will make us not. When we are not, we cannot defy it any longer. One who cannot be, cannot disobey. I'm sorry, my dear diary, but I must leave you. I must see god. I must let it consume me._

_c o n s u m e_

_m e_


	22. Update 2

Soooooooo... yeah, this has over a thousand hits. First of all, thank you all for reading <3 <3

Also, if you couldn't tell from the previous chapter, this is most definitely going in the cosmic horror direction. This fic is pretty light right now, it's going to get worse in the angst department. Expect more cynicism and nihilism, and more **big sads**. **big sads** are one of my specialties. _No, I will NOT be killing Loona members._ People who do that can go to hell with those cunts who keep writing underage Loona smuts.

 _Maybe_ a little more fluff. Okay, fine, a lot more fluff will be coming. Kekeke I fucking suck at fluff but It's fun :))))))

I have about ten chapters thought out already, but it takes a long time to write the ideas out, so my uploads will be staggered for a while.

High school is almost as fucking gay as I am so that's another reason for slow uploads I guess.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.


	23. Watched | Hyejoo

"Get that plank!" Haseul shouted over the loud banging. Jiwoo tugged on the wood plank that had come loose from one of the holes in the floor.

"Faster, bitch! I can't hold this shut forever!" Hyejoo shouted, pushing her shoulder against the rattling stairwell door.

Jiwoo yanked hard on the plank, snapping it from it's place on the floor. 

"Wait, which way does that door open?" Jiwoo said. Hyejoo planted her feet as the pushing from the other side grew stronger. So strong that the metal began to shake in it's frame as large dents appeared on the door. How the hell was she still holding it shut?

"Shit... I don't think a plank is going to hold them out!" Hyejoo said. She realized that using the plank was pointless. Whatever was on the other side had grown impatient, and the door was ripped from it's frame. Whoever... _whatever_ it was ducked through the door frame, and tossed the damaged door to the side. The creature that stood before them looked almost human, but with grey, clammy skin, and horribly disproportionate, elongated limbs. It had no eyes, and a head split in half by a row of crooked teeth. It lumbered forward awkwardly, likely having trouble balancing on it's own legs. It scanned the room, but found no one was there. Everyone had run.

* * *

"What the fuck was that?" Haseul asked between pants.

"I have no fucking clue," Hyejoo replied.

"Why are you cursing so much?" Chaewon interjected. Hyejoo shot her a glare.

"The situation is pretty dire, I'm surprised you aren't cursing," Hyejoo said.

"I don't punctuate every sentence with a swear word," Chaewon said, crossing her arms.

"According to the girl who hangs out with Gahyeon," Hyejoo was reminded of the scene earlier when she said her name. 

"This is _not_ the time for petty high school girl drama, now be quiet. We don't want that thing to hear us," Haseul said. Right, that thing was still there. They had taken cover in some bushes, and didn't dare try to get in any cars. The monster from before was still poking around outside, and after what it did to the door, there was no guarantee that their cars wouldn't get destroyed too, or it would catch them before they even got there. 

"This must be some sick joke," Jiwoo whispered. Haseul put a hand on her shoulder.

"That _thing_ that tore a door off it's hinges? No human could do that," Haseul whispered.

"Hyejoo seemed to hold it closed just fine," Jiwoo replied. That was true. How _did_ she hold it shut? That door was solid steel, and that monster was punching huge dents in it. Did this have something to do with the meteor strike? The idea of super strength crossed her mind, but that was ridiculous. There was no such thing as superpowers.

The monster didn't seem to want to leave the area, so she was going to have to do something. She was fast, she could get away.

"I'm gonna run, it's g-" Hyejoo started.

"No! It'll see you!" Chaewon said, a little too loud. 

"Trust me, I'm fast. It'll chase after me, but it'll give you guys time to get away," She began to stand up, brushing some dirt off her jeans. "I'll be fine, you guys get out of here,"

Chaewon nodded. Hyejoo stood up, and quickly accelerated to a sprint. She didn't know if she'd live, she just wanted to let the others get away. One life in exchange for three, that seemed fair. She didn't want to live _that_ badly. Hyejoo couldn't hear anything other than her heartbeat, but she had no doubt that the freakish beast from before was on her tail. She would grow tired soon, and that thing's legs were so long it could probably walk to keep up with her. Her legs were burning and her sides were cramping. She couldn't keep this up much longer.

Hyejoo looked over her shoulder, and saw the monster no less than a meter behind her. She would've screamed, but her stomach was cramping so much she couldn't make a sound. She felt it's long, bony fingers wrap around her torso, and snatch her off the ground. She struggled against it's tight grip, but it was no use. It turned her around in it's massive hand, and she finally saw it in detail. It's mouth opened in a method not unlike that of a zipper, and it began to move her towards it's gaping maw. She pushed with all her might against it, but it was too strong. She was going to die. Why did she run? 

Hyejoo uncovered her face, and noticed she had stopped moving. She turned to look at the monster, and saw it had fallen completely still. It's grip around her felt significantly looser. The creature's mouth hung agape, unmoving. She took this opportunity to wriggle free from it's grasp, and once she was out of it's hand, turned the other way and ran. She felt like something was different, and the idea was only further nurtured by the birds frozen in the air. Was she hallucinating? Was this all some twisted nightmare? No, this felt far too real. 

Her friends were actually not too far up the road. She could see that they were frozen too. She didn't know what to do. Everything had completely stopped. She slowly walked closer, and reached out to touch Chaewon. She tapped her shoulder.

_Snap._

Everything was moving again. Her friends were running again. Chaewon whipped around to face her. Tears stained her cheeks.

"H-Hyejoo? I thought you were..." Chaewon said in surprise, stopping mid sentence. She grabbed Hyejoo's arm, and pulled her along with the group. 

They ran for what felt like hours, with nothing but endless trees bordering the road. Eventually, after much debating, they stopped on the side of the road to rest.

Hyejoo's heart was pounding and her legs were on fire. She had pushed her body to it's absolute limit. She fell flat on her back in the grass, and took a deep breath. Her throat was dry too. 

"Does anyone have any water?" Hyejoo asked breathlessly. The other girls gave a collective 'no'. _Shit._ She was probably nine kinds of dehydrated, and she didn't want to kick the bucket because of forgetting a _fucking water bottle_ when she had just barely escaped death. She went to take another breath, but she choked on something. Something was stuck in her throat. 

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Haseul asked. Hyejoo nodded, she could feel whatever it was starting to come dislodged, so she was sure she could get it out. She finally coughed it up into the grass, and her mouth was flooded with a familiar metallic taste. 

"What the hell?" Hyejoo said, before sticking a finger in her mouth. She withdrew her finger, and gasped. Her finger was stained red. She looked down, and saw what she had just coughed up. Blood.

 _A lot of blood_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go read Loona the Apocalypse. It's god tier. I highly recommend it, and it's got a good 300,000 words, so it might take you a day or two to finish. Also, sorry how short this was. I haven't had a lot of time to write recently, I'm trying to get back into the habit of uploading more, but I've been really busy recently, so please be patient. :)


	24. Журнали Eкспериментів | ???

Dr. ████████

██████████ Research Facility

██/██/██

External (Skin Contact) Exposure:

Test Subjects instantly fall unconscious upon exposure to crystals. No further side effects noted.

Upon Consumption:

Test Subjects that ingest the crystals immediately report feelings of drowsiness, headache, and mild fever. Two (2) of eleven (11) expire during this phase from apparent cardiac arrest.

Remaining subjects begin to expel blood from the body, in ways varying from oral expulsion, to leaking from the skin. This continues until no blood is left in the body. three (3) of the remaining nine expire due to lack of circulation, while the remaining six (6) continue to maintain stable life functions despite the lack of blood in the body.

Immediately afterwards, subjects experience organ failure. Four (4) of the remaining six (6) expire. The surviving two (2) remain conscious and completely motile, and report no feelings of discomfort, despite having no remaining biological function.

A short time later, the subjects report feelings of unease and panic. Massive physical changes occur in one, morphing their body into a crystalline humanoid creature that remains conscious and motile, but ceases communication. The other promptly erupts into flames, and proceeds to ██████ ███ ███████ ███ ████████ █████.

Upon non-oral Surgical Insertion:

Subjects were placed under general anesthesia during the initial operation, and the crystals were fused to the liver of each subject. Subjects remained unconscious long after the affects of the anesthesia were determined to wear off. 

After roughly twenty minutes, blood was removed from the bodies of the subjects via leakage from the skin. No lesions were observed. Two (2) of the twenty-four (24) subjects expired from loss of circulation. 

Organ failure was not observed in the unconscious subjects, but the subjects who did regain consciousness early quickly expired from total brain death. Three (3) deaths were observed in this fashion. 

After another short period of time, nine (9) ceased all life functions unexpectedly, and spontaneously combusted. The remaining individuals awoke from their unconscious state one at a time afterwards. No patterns were observed in the time taken for the subjects to wake, and seem completely random.

In the following time period (greatly varying in time taken), each of the surviving individuals began to develop strange abilities. More information listed in section ' _subject list_ '.

* * *

_Subject List_ | _Effects of Exposure_ | | _Form of Exposure_ | | _Development Time_ |

* * *

M-22-W/C | Partial Immortality*| | Surgical Insertion | | 1 Hour, 52 Minutes |

* * *

F-39-SL |Partial Immortality*| | Surgical Insertion | | 1 Hour, 32 Minutes |

* * *

M-19-AF/B |Partial Immortality*| | Surgical Insertion | | 1 Hour, 44 Minutes |

* * *

M-43-AS |Blindness, Total Immortality**| | Surgical Insertion | | 36 Minutes, 9 Seconds |

* * *

F-23-SA |Partial Immortality*| | Surgical Insertion | | 22 Seconds |

* * *

M-19-W/C |~130 pt. IQ increase | | Surgical Insertion | | 2 Hours, 9 Minutes |

* * *

F-21-AS | Telepathy, Psychosis | | Surgical Insertion | | 33 Minutes, 33 Seconds |

* * *

F-31-W/C |Physical Transformation***| | Surgical Insertion | | 1 Hour, 12 Minutes |

* * *

F-56-AF/B |Blindness, ████████| |Surgical Insertion | | <1 Second |

* * *

M-34-SA |Physical Transformation***| | Ingestion | | █████████████ |

* * *

F-14-W/C | Detailed Below**** | | Ingestion | | █████████████ |

* * *

* Partial Immortality refers to the body not requiring sustenance and becoming extremely durable, but can still be killed with sufficient force. Aging process slows greatly

** Total Immortality refers to the body not requiring sustenance and becoming completely invulnerable, as well as halting the aging process entirely.

*** Subject F-31-W/C sprouted twelve (12) tentacle-like appendages from their upper back, and experienced a significant increase in durability and strength. Subject experienced no apparent mental or emotional changes.

Subject M-34-SA transfigured into a black, translucent, crystalline-skinned humanoid entity. The creature is 3.6 meters (11.8 ft.) in height, and has an epidermis compromised entirely of ████████████, formed in hexagonal structured protrusions. It has four arm-like appendages that end in twelve (12) fingered hands. It's legs are inverse jointed, and it can run at speeds upwards of 90 kph (55 mph). It is nearly indestructible by means of conventional weaponry. The creature has shown to be relatively passive, but cannot communicate as it has no visible orifices. It appears to have a sense of sight, despite having no eyes or eye-like structures. 

**** Subject F-14-W/C gained the ability to violently excite nearby atoms, causing blasts composed of ionized plasmas that reach temperatures higher than 12,000 **°** C (~21,600 **°** F) that are capable of vaporizing steel. Subject also became high-temperature resistant, and seems unaffected by it's own explosions. It also has the ability to ignite itself, which causes no harm. After gaining it's abilities, it █████ ███ ██████████ ██ ████████ ███████ ████████ █████, ██████ ███ ██████ ██ █████. ████ ██████ █████ ██ ███████, ██████ ████ ██ ███████. Subject demonstrated extreme hostility and psychotic episodes not seen in the other patients. 


End file.
